Dovenmuehle Mortgage is set to lay off 212 employees come February, Crain’s reported.
The decision complied with the Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act, mandating a 60-day notice for layoffs, and spotlights a considerable decline in demand for mortgages.
Lake Zurich-based Dovenmuehle, a subservicer, handles various aspects of mortgages without issuing them directly. Its responsibilities include accepting monthly payments, managing escrow payoffs, handling customer service and reporting defaults.
The layoffs could stem from a dropoff in business, or “a reduction in the number of loans subserviced,” National Mortgage News reported.
Dovenmuehle hasn’t publicly commented on the matter.
This downsizing trend isn’t unique to Dovenmuehle. In 2022, Rosemont-based Interfirst Mortgage underwent three rounds of layoffs, totaling close to 500 jobs. Nationwide, there have been over 100 recorded instances of layoffs, shutdowns and mergers in the mortgage industry since early 2022, the outlet reported, citing the Truth About Mortgage.
Dovenmuehle and other mortgage-related companies have been impacted by broader struggles in residential real estate. By the end of November, Chicago-area home sales stood at about two-thirds of levels observed between 2017 and 2019. Demand for mortgages has decreased nationwide. Applications for mortgages and refinancing were down 12 percent last week, compared to a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The National Association of Realtors last week reported a 1.7 percent drop in membership compared to the previous year, marking its first annual decline since 2012. More insights on the Realtor membership figures specific to Chicagoland and Illinois are anticipated next week.
Established in 1844 at Clark and Washington streets in Chicago, Dovenmuehle Mortgage is Illinois’s oldest mortgage firm. The firm played a pivotal role in financing the iconic Marina City complex with a $17.8 million mortgage in 1960.
—Quinn Donoghue
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