What’s this??
May 3rd, 2006 | by mbhunter |The parent company of the nation’s largest sub-prime mortgage lender is laying off employees?
Two hundred twenty-nine branches will be closed. This was huge to me. Is this a sign that the lenders aren’t getting the same business they did during the past few years?
Since they deal mainly in sub-prime lending, they probably offer mortgages like this and this. Are prices finally so high that even these mortgages won’t do the trick? (The closures are in California, the hottest of the hot areas.) The danger is that these loans won’t be covered by the value of the properties if there’s a downturn. But if the housing prices are being held up by a steady stream of (likely sub-prime) buyers, and if Ameriquest is tipping its hand as to the future of this market by canning 3,800 employees — meaning it thinks that this business is on the way out — then prices might go down pretty soon.
6 Responses to “What’s this??”
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By mapgirl on May 3, 2006 | Reply
Sorry you got comment spammed. Interesting article. However, I think it makes sense since there have been articles recently about foreclosures going up in CA. The Phoenix market has a bit of a housing bubble as well so it seems pretty reasonable if they expanded too many retail locations to consolidate a them back as mortgage applications fall.
By dunmoose on May 4, 2006 | Reply
I don’t know how anyone can afford a house in some areas of the states. Especially since single detatched dwellings are a lot bigger than they were when i grew up in the 70’s. A friend of mine in the Hudson Valley area calls them “McMansions”
By mbhunter on May 4, 2006 | Reply
People really can’t — that’s the problem. I shouldn’t be able to afford the house I’m in now if I were to buy it today.