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CNN Live Today
Mortgage Business Boom
Aired September 03, 2003 - 10:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the mortgage business has been booming with homeowners and home buyers taking advantage of low rates.
Brokers added thousands of workers over the past two years. Our Andy Serwer is in New York for his series this week, "Where The Jobs Are."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, this is Danielle with (unintelligible) mortgage. Hi. I'm in a closing right now.
ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you're a homeowner, there's a good chance you've been in this very same situation, meeting with a mortgage banker to refinance.
With interest rates dipping to 40 year lows this year, millions of Americans have rushed to save hundreds on monthly payments or take equity out of their home. And that means times couldn't be better for mortgage bankers.
STEVE SCHNALL, MORTGAGE BANKER: My staff says what recession? As far as we're concerned, you know in this industry anyway, there wasn't one.
SERWER: The refi and housing boom has created thousands of new jobs. According to the Labor Department, the number of mortgage jobs jumped nearly 16 percent last year. Steve Schnall finds himself in a position not too common in this economy. He's actually hiring.
Schnall says he's looking to add over 100 new employees to his firm. And because demand is so high, it's not just mortgage bankers that are getting the jobs.
SCHNALL: We've recently hired people that were selling advertising, or selling other financial services products, stockbrokers, financial planners, insurance sales people. We've also hired a handful of attorneys.
SERWER: However, skeptics caution the jobs might not be there a few months from now. The housing frenzy is showing signs of fading. But while the jobs are there, the hours are long. 80 hour work weeks are not uncommon.
Dave Dessner, a mortgage banker, says his family knows the drill by now.
DAVE DESSNER, MORTGAGE BANKER: Well, my wife understands. She knows that this year is kind of a feast year and other years are slower. So she understands that this is a time where you make, you know, make hay while the sun shines.
SERWER: Dessner and others like him will tell you that too much work, especially in this economy, is a great problem to have.
(on camera): The housing market has been a pillar of the economy over the past few years, though rising interest rates could cause this business to slow. What mortgage bankers are hoping, though, is the economy picks up back up, putting more people back at work with more money in their pockets to spend on housing.
Andy Serwer, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 3, 2003 - 10:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the mortgage business has been booming with homeowners and home buyers taking advantage of low rates.
Brokers added thousands of workers over the past two years. Our Andy Serwer is in New York for his series this week, "Where The Jobs Are."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, this is Danielle with (unintelligible) mortgage. Hi. I'm in a closing right now.
ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you're a homeowner, there's a good chance you've been in this very same situation, meeting with a mortgage banker to refinance.
With interest rates dipping to 40 year lows this year, millions of Americans have rushed to save hundreds on monthly payments or take equity out of their home. And that means times couldn't be better for mortgage bankers.
STEVE SCHNALL, MORTGAGE BANKER: My staff says what recession? As far as we're concerned, you know in this industry anyway, there wasn't one.
SERWER: The refi and housing boom has created thousands of new jobs. According to the Labor Department, the number of mortgage jobs jumped nearly 16 percent last year. Steve Schnall finds himself in a position not too common in this economy. He's actually hiring.
Schnall says he's looking to add over 100 new employees to his firm. And because demand is so high, it's not just mortgage bankers that are getting the jobs.
SCHNALL: We've recently hired people that were selling advertising, or selling other financial services products, stockbrokers, financial planners, insurance sales people. We've also hired a handful of attorneys.
SERWER: However, skeptics caution the jobs might not be there a few months from now. The housing frenzy is showing signs of fading. But while the jobs are there, the hours are long. 80 hour work weeks are not uncommon.
Dave Dessner, a mortgage banker, says his family knows the drill by now.
DAVE DESSNER, MORTGAGE BANKER: Well, my wife understands. She knows that this year is kind of a feast year and other years are slower. So she understands that this is a time where you make, you know, make hay while the sun shines.
SERWER: Dessner and others like him will tell you that too much work, especially in this economy, is a great problem to have.
(on camera): The housing market has been a pillar of the economy over the past few years, though rising interest rates could cause this business to slow. What mortgage bankers are hoping, though, is the economy picks up back up, putting more people back at work with more money in their pockets to spend on housing.
Andy Serwer, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
