Skip to main content

MBA, ALTA and AEA standardize closing instructions

Nov 19, 2007

U.S. mortgage market provides warning signs for U.K. lendersMortgagePress.comUK mortgage market While U.K. and U.S. mortgage lenders have been moving increasingly into each other's markets for the past decade, cross-border expansion has ramped up significantly in 2006 and 2007. This is in part due to the fact that the U.K. and U.S. mortgage markets are at opposite ends of the lending market cycle with respect to interest rates, lending volume growth, house prices and credit risk. New research from TowerGroup finds that lenders who are considering cross-border expansion must determine whether the differences between the two lending cycles will enable them to balance out mortgage revenues and risk—or whether recent negative housing market developments in the United States are poised to hit the United Kingdom in the near future. In 2006 and early 2007, the U.S. mortgage market experienced a massive shakeout as gross lending volume plummeted an estimated 18 percent. However, mortgage lending volume in the U.K. has continued to rise, hitting an all-time high of 380 billion pounds in 2006. TowerGroup believes that U.K. lending volume has been less cyclical than U.S. volume because of both interest rate trends and loan product types (i.e., more shorter-term, variable-rate mortgages that re-price automatically, causing re-mortgaging to occur more consistently across interest rate cycles). "The current state of the U.S. mortgage market is an early warning sign that U.K. lenders should fine tune their own in-market strategies as well as carefully evaluate before expanding into the United States," said Craig Focardi, research director of the consumer lending practice at TowerGroup and author of the research. "Because the U.K. and U.S. mortgage markets are in different cycles for interest rates and credit risks, lenders can potentially diversify and smooth out mortgage segment revenues and profits by engaging in cross-border expansion. But they must assess these benefits in the context of the potential for decline in U.K. house prices and the rising loan default rates on the horizon." Highlights of the research include: • The current interest rate/home price cycle in the U.S. is working in reverse with rising interest rates—reducing affordability for new buyers, slowing growth of house prices and driving up mortgage payments for those with adjusted-rate mortgages. Uncertainty over growth in future house prices is further clouding the picture for U.S. lenders and consumers alike, with many experts saying that a large number of homes on the market are overvalued. • In contrast, the U.K. housing market looks brighter—with U.K. house prices rising a strong 10.2 percent during the fourth quarter of 2006. • However, even if U.K. house prices and lending growth continue to rise throughout 2007, U.K. lenders, as well as foreign lenders contemplating entry into the U.K. mortgage market, should look to the warnings signs coming from the U.S. This includes diversifying their lending portfolios, maintaining rigor in the underwriting processes, regularly assessing portfolio risks, and updating their collections strategy and information technology systems. "As more sub-prime lenders fail and equity capital is lost, the mortgage market will continue to be a drag on the U.S. economy and stock market, but will not severely threaten it financially," said Focardi. "TowerGroup believes that the U.S. mortgage market is resilient and will find market-based solutions to resolve its problems. U.K. lenders, in turn, need to replace today's irrational exuberance with rational exuberance, and then likely with sober reality, given the potential for a decline in U.K. house prices along with a rise in non-conforming and sub-prime loan default rates." Focardi added, "The U.K. has an advantage in seeing the effects of overheated housing and mortgage markets in the U.S. and should heed the U.S. experience, instead of claiming that 'we're different, and it can't happen here.'" The new report by Focardi, titled "Opportunities and Risk in Cross-Border Expansion Between the U.K. and U.S. Mortgage Markets," examines cross-border mortgage lending expansion opportunities, risks, product innovations and technologies in the United Kingdom and the United States. It also compares and contrasts recent developments in mortgage lending volume, house prices, product innovation, sub-prime loan product risk and loan delinquencies. For more information, visit www.towergroup.com.
About the author
Published
Nov 19, 2007
Co-Founder Mat Grella Terminated From NEXA

NEXA CEO Kortas states negotiations regarding the buyout will continue.

Mar 27, 2024
Comings And Goings At AmeriHome

Chief Operating Officer John Hedlund announced his retirement on Thursday in a LinkedIn post.

Mar 22, 2024
Rocket's Tim Birkmeier To Retire

Birkmeier is bidding farewell after a 28-year career at Rocket Companies.

Mar 21, 2024
How NAR’s Settlement Impacts Homebuying

While the settlement's silver lining is that homes are expected to become more affordable, many uncertainties loom over the housing market.

Mar 19, 2024
NAR Reaches $418 Million Settlement

The association agreed to give home sellers the option of compensating agents.

Mar 15, 2024
U.S. Non-Bank Mortgage Lenders Surge Amid Industry Consolidation, Fitch Ratings Reports

As smaller players exit the market, scaled originators like UWM and PennyMac Financial dominate, but challenges persist with low origination volume and pressured margins amidst rising interest rates.

Mar 14, 2024