Richard Bouchner, managing director of the Commodore Property Group
From the February issue:
Everyone in the real estate industry knows that the price of admission for a mortgage has gone up. And just about everyone agrees there’s good reason for that, given that loose lending standards were largely responsible for the financial mess that plunged the economy into a recession and sent real estate into a tailspin. With the days of quick and easy jumbo loans and 100 percent financing now merely a memory, mortgage brokers have had to completely alter the way they do business. This month, The Real Deal talked to mortgage brokers and other mortgage industry professionals to find out how the industry is doing in New York City. While nearly everyone said business is up compared to a year ago, when they were dealing with the immediate aftermath of the Lehman debacle, new Federal guidelines designed to protect borrowers and inject more transparency into the system have slowed down the process of securing a mortgage. And the relationship between banks and mortgage brokers is strained, with fewer banks offering fewer products. As one mortgage broker said: “It’s all cookie-cutter stuff; not every borrower fits into a box neatly.” For more on which buyers and buildings are fueling mortgage activity in New York, what kinds of mortgages are being financed and the new standards mortgage brokers are dealing with, we turn to our panel of experts. [more]
