Bloomberg reported that profits by independent mortgage bankers shrank to an average of $606 per home loan in the first quarter, down from $1,088 a year earlier, the Washington-based mortgage bankers group reported yesterday.
An index of home loan applications in the U.S. rose to the highest level in nine months last week as record-low borrowing costs boosted refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today. Originations probably will decline to $1.48 trillion this year from $2.1 trillion in 2009, according to a July 14 forecast by the group.
