WASHINGTON—Mortgage lenders continue to adapt their strategies as they navigate another relatively slow year of mortgage origination activity, according to Fannie Mae’s analysis released as part of its Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey (MLSS).
According to Fannie Mae, highlights of the MLSS include:
- Mortgage lenders cited “talent management and leadership” and “cost-cutting” as their two most important business priorities of 2024. “Cost-cutting had been cited by lenders as their top priority last year, and, in the latest MLSS, nearly two-thirds of respondents reported downsizing their workforce in 2023 – though only a slim minority expect that trend to continue through 2024,” Fannie Mae said.
- “Looking further ahead, lenders’ views about future interest rate movements were mixed: Nearly three-in-five foresee a refinance boom in 2025, while one-third do not anticipate a spike in refinance activity in the foreseeable future,” Fannie Mae reported.
- “In our latest survey, significantly fewer – but still a majority of – lenders expect the U.S. economy to enter a recession over the next two years (66% in 2024 vs. 93% in 2023),” Fannie Mae stated. “Like last year, lenders continue to consider low housing supply and higher mortgage rates as the biggest risks to industry growth.”