Mortgage requests on the rise

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 30, 2005

The number of loan origination requests reviewed by Cambridge Realty Capital Companies spiked sharply in October, with more than twice the number of requests reviewed than during the same month last year.

Cambridge chairman Jeffrey A. Davis said the company reviewed 56 origination requests in October, totaling $308.7 million. This compares with 25 origination requests totaling $389 million in October, 2004.

"The volume comparison is a bit misleading because the October total in 2004 was pushed higher by a couple of exceptionally large origination requests, including one loan that exceeded $100 million," he said.

For a variety of reasons, lenders close a relatively small percentage of loan requests reviewed.

But according to Davis, tracking this information is useful as an indication of current market directions.

"The number of origination requests received has been exceptionally high since the summer began. Through October, the company had looked at 355 origination requests, compared with 293 the previous year. However, volume for origination requests was slightly higher last year, $2.45 million compared with $2.37 million for the same 10-month period in 2005."