Did your production drop in Q4?

Mortgage bankers saw a significant drop-off in production volume in the fourth quarter, according to data released yesterday

Mortgage bankers saw a significant drop-off in production volume in the fourth quarter, according to data released yesterday.

Richey May & Co., a provider of accounting and business advisory services to the mortgage industry, released its quarterly trend report for Q4 of 2013. Among the report’s key findings were:
  • Overall production volume among those surveyed fell by an average of just under 11%. Most lenders saw production fall between 6% and 55%.
  • Refinance volume dropped 9%.
  • Purchase volume was down nearly 12%.
  • The distribution of FICO scores changed by 2%. Lenders closed more loans with FICO scores between 651 and 700 in the fourth quarter, and fewer with FICO scores above 750.
The report also found that about one third of lenders that hadn’t previously extended credit to borrowers with scores under 600 began doing so in Q4.

“Lenders are trying a lot of different things to keep production levels up – lending to borrowers with lower FICO scores is just one of them,” said Ken Richey, managing partner of Richey May.