In a recent survey of mortgage origination professionals, 29% cite increased purchase business competition as the biggest challenge in today’s mortgage market.
About 25% say margin compression due to regulatory mandates is the biggest challenge and 24% point to elevated interest rates, according to the 2018 “State of the Originations Industry” report from Altisource Portfolio Solutions.
The report finds that tight inventory of existing and new construction combined with higher interest rates and higher home prices has impacted affordability, resulting in fewer home sales and, thus, shrinking purchase volume.
“As the available purchase business declines, capturing this business relies on the originator’s ability to quickly respond to requests and originate loans faster, with great customer experience,” Altisource says in the report, which is based on a survey of more than 200 decision makers in the mortgage origination business.
So what is currently the most promising market opportunity for lenders?
About 25% say construction loans while 20% say “non-QM” loans.
“Construction activity should increase over the next year due to the robust demand in the overall housing market and the historical shortage of existing housing supply,” Altisource says. “The non-QM market is predicted to grow by 400 percent over the next year and while this growth only represents an increase of $5 billion to $8 billion in annual production, the appetite for this asset class is still growing and the non-QM opportunity should be watched.”
Justin Vedder, chief operating officer, origination solutions, for Altisource says the survey reveals “the risks and challenges present in the market.”
“The biggest challenge identified, with respect to the mortgage market, is the economic environment today and into the near future,” Vedder says. “With that said, originators can take certain steps to stay competitive. For example, consider outsourcing some or all fulfillment, closing and processing operations, join a peer network, continue to look for new talent while also focusing on the retention of top performers, add new loan programs but offload the risk and operational cost to a third-party and be bold with piloting programs that will generate higher margin revenue.”