Weakening Mortgage Employment Could Strengthen

DALLAS — (Aug. 29, 2011) /PRNewswire/ More than 2,000 mortgage jobs have been eliminated this year, according to the Second-Quarter 2011 Mortgage Employment Index from MortgageDaily.com. But falling rates and worsening loan performance could lead to increased hirings in the second half.

The index, which reflects hirings and layoffs tracked by MortgageDaily.com, was down almost 500 jobs in the second quarter. Nearly 5,000 hirings weren’t enough to offset more than 5,000 layoffs.

Still, the contraction was less severe than the first quarter. But activity swung from growth of more than 700 jobs during the same period last year.

Real estate finance positions in California were off more than a thousand jobs — the worst of any state. But Ohio’s gain of 800 jobs was the best performance.

Nearly half of all layoffs tracked were at Wells Fargo, which cut mortgage fulfillment staffing and closed its reverse mortgage business.

More than half of all second-quarter hirings occurred at Chase, which hired hundreds in Ohio.

Hirings could pick up as rates have recently fallen to record lows — sparking a refinance rally and boosting demand for loan originators, processors and underwriters as well as other production personnel.

However, since some of the biggest lenders already made massive job cuts this year, this group might be reluctant to staff up too quickly. Instead, small- to mid-sized mortgage bankers and brokers are likely to quickly capitalize on the building refinance wave.

In addition, deteriorating delinquency and bloated foreclosure inventories could drive additional recruiting by mortgage servicers.