Mortgage Loans at 8 year low

Mortgage originations will fall to their lowest levels since 2000, forcing job losses for at least 30,000 more professionals according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

According to forecasts by the MBA, mortgage originations will decline 18 percent to $1.89 trillion, the lowest level in 8 years since $1.14 trillion in 2000.  According to their predictions, it will slide another 6 percent in 2009.

Less mortgage loans means less business for mortgage bankers, who have already seen their ranks thinned by 60,000 to 70,000 people in the housing downturn, Duncan said. It’s “tough times,” he said. “Continued consolidation is to be expected in the industry.”

Read more about mortgage originations at an eight year low at CNBC.