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Nearly 90,000 Mortgage Jobs Eliminated in 2007

money.cnn.com — More than 86,000 mortgage jobs were cut in 2007 because of the weakening real estate market, according to a new report released Monday. Countrywide shed the most jobs in the mortgage disaster; California was hit the hardest; more cuts expected.

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  • iching, on 01/09/2008, -1/+35And a lot of those 90,000 have mortgages to pay
    • blitzer, on 01/09/2008, -3/+3ironic?
    • BassMastr, on 01/09/2008, -2/+1If helps at all I'm guessing they are going to need some help soon down at the unemployment office.
    • ChaosMotor, on 01/09/2008, -3/+2Yup, that's how global capitalism makes money. Workers aren't people, they're a resource. They are acquired, used up, and disposed of. The business takes the cash and leaves the mess. AND! AND!!! When these poor schmucks default on their loan, it wipes out all their equity (the only 'savings' most Americans have now) while allowing some wealthy speculator to snap it up for pennies on the dollar, hold it till the market adjusts, and sell it at an incredible profit so that they are even more wealthy! Those with money have more, those without money have less.

      Globalist capitalism, ain't it grand?
      • nihilite, on 01/09/2008, -2/+2and your alternative to capitalism is......?
        • ChaosMotor, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1I said /global/ capitalism. The replacement is local capitalism, where investments are made locally, owned locally, and managed locally, and you don't have a disembodied global interest shifting liquidity around to wherever they can milk the population and disappear. We should not sell national assets like forests, waterways, mineral rights, or even roadways, to foreign investors who simply use us up and leave when they've got all the area's capital. If you don't tie people physically to their investments, they can roam the world and wreak havoc, soaking up all the local money and going elsewhere.
      • BassMastr, on 01/09/2008, -1/+1So why don't you hold the individual responsible for making good financial decisions? This is what happens to those who try and "keep up with the Jones."
        • ChaosMotor, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1How about we hold the individuals at the banks and the individual banks responsible also, and not just the mortgage holders, who are the LEAST informed party in the *****?
        • BassMastr, on 01/10/2008, -0/+1Those individuals know their finances better than the bank ever could or would. Why is it that people expect others to look out for their best interests. People need to understand that the only person who is going to look out for you first is YOU. Those who rely on others to teach them, look out for them, and take care of them end up in the situation where they look for others to bail them out later. Those people are the reason the rest of the country is now paying for their stupidity.
  • pedrovoltaire, on 01/09/2008, -5/+13geez i can't wait to move to SF... i wish this mortgage meltdown would pick up the pace already...
    • CiXeL, on 01/09/2008, -6/+7not cool wishing ill will on people dude.
      i want a house as much as you do but dont be a dick about it.
    • huggybarrel, on 01/09/2008, -0/+5stay away from the bay area, plzkthx, we have enough people here
      • CiXeL, on 01/09/2008, -1/+6if the bay area gets any more dense it will collapse into a blackhole
    • mcduckov, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1A nice healthy recession would be a good start. So far we're probably 2 years into this downturn and RE cycles tend to go in 7 year increments. A recession in the first 1/2 of 08 would probably push the housing market down to a bottom sometime in 08, maybe in 09.

      Watch housing inventory, that is how you'll be able to pick turning points.
  • chaserm, on 01/09/2008, -5/+5What I don't understand is: with all the layoffs how come the unemployment rate does not go up much? Are the unemployment numbers being suppressed?
    • jeffiek, on 01/09/2008, -1/+7There's something on the order of 100 to 150 MILLION employed in the US. 90,000 is a big number for one industry in a short length of time, but overall it's just a drop in a bucket.

      But yes, the unemployment rate has started to show a bit. 2 or 3 tenths of a percent if I recall correctly.
    • jmpeagle, on 01/09/2008, -0/+5the unemployment rate jumped to 5% from 4.5% a year ago. Also a lot of the lost jobs in construction for example were not American citizens (illegals make up an estimated 1/3 of the construction work force) and they are not counted in the employment surveys.
      • TKardinal, on 01/09/2008, -4/+1Jumped from 5% to 4.5%? Do you have your numbers mixed up?
    • jaybol, on 01/09/2008, -0/+4don't forget that those mortgage layoffs have to go somewhere and take employment...that is why the new jobs numbers don't tell how bad things really are. when you take that spending out of the picture from 90,000 people, all other business struggle too like we have been seeing. just like it only takes 3 out of 300 homes in a development to short sale or foreclose to cause values to plummet in the neighborhood.
      • CiXeL, on 01/09/2008, -0/+2prepare to watch all available jobs in every profession get alot tighter.
    • monkeyrun, on 01/09/2008, -1/+7There is a funny way to calculate unemployment rate, like if you are unemployed for a certain period of time you are no longer counted.
      • jmpeagle, on 01/09/2008, -1/+2that's not true, they only stop counting you if you STOP looking for work therefore taking yourself out of the labor market
        • monkeyrun, on 01/09/2008, -1/+1So what's the difference, basically they will assume that you are off the market after a period of time.
          • jmpeagle, on 01/09/2008, -0/+2no, you can not be working for 2 straight years but still be LOOKING and therefore still part of the labor market. There is no time limit. The government always releases those statistics of percentage of unemployed for example who have been unemployed for over 6 months.
          • nihilite, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1retrospective revisions are the only accurate method - essentially it is a statistical estimate of unemployment.
        • ordig, on 01/09/2008, -1/+2The only why they know you are looking though, is if you claim unemployment. Alot of people don't do that, or can't because they were "overpaid" by the unemployment office and owe them money..
          • jmpeagle, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1why would be lie to the survey if it has no effect on their ability to get unemployment benefits. It's a household survey and they ask you the most recent time you have looked for work.
          • ordig, on 01/09/2008, -1/+1What survey? I thought they calculated the unemployment rate based on how many people were collecting benefits.
          • jmpeagle, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1it's based on a survey because knowing how many people recieving benefits doesn't tell you how many people HAVE jobs. Millions of sel-employed people etc... you get the idea. Only a survey will get the numbers.

            The government uses the Current Population Survey (CPS)

            Read about it here:http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm
            "....Some people think that to get these figures on unemployment the Government uses the number of persons filing claims for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits under State or Federal Government programs. But some people are still jobless when their benefits run out, and many more are not eligible at all or delay or never apply for benefits. So, quite clearly, UI information cannot be used as a source for complete information on the number of unemployed.

            Other people think that the Government counts every unemployed person each month. To do this, every home in the country would have to be contacted--just as in the population census every 10 years. This procedure would cost way too much and take far too long. Besides, people would soon grow tired of having a census taker come to their homes every month, year after year, to ask about job-related activities.

            Because unemployment insurance records relate only to persons who have applied for such benefits, and since it is impractical to actually count every unemployed person each month, the Government conducts a monthly sample survey called the Current Population Survey (CPS) to measure the extent of unemployment in the country. The CPS has been conducted in the United States every month since 1940 when it began as a Work Projects Administration project. It has been expanded and modified several times since then...."
    • 0ceanic, on 01/09/2008, -2/+1mass suicides
      • ordig, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1This isn't japan we are talking about.
    • obliviousfool, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1Bureau of Labor Statistics = Bureau of Lying Statistics. It's been that way for ages. No one trusts those numbers.
    • mos6507, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1They are flilpping burgers.
  • Homerr, on 01/09/2008, -6/+8So loans should be cheaper without all that extra management overhead, no?
    • jmpeagle, on 01/09/2008, -0/+2not really because a lot less loans are being processed so there is still the same amount of cost per loan.
    • jadjadjad, on 01/09/2008, -0/+0the FED is expect to lower interest rates another 1%.

      the unemployment has risen from the 4.7 to 5, though still considered full employment.
  • FlyingSpaghetti, on 01/09/2008, -3/+31That's called trimming the fat. So many people got into the real estate business just to turn a quick buck during the ridiculous inflationary period. Now that the market has dried up they're returning to their previous jobs.
    • Qtip42, on 01/09/2008, -0/+5Exactly. Couldn't have said it better.
    • dildoolielly, on 01/09/2008, -6/+3"Trimming the Fat"?! Say wha?!

      Did you look at the numbers?

      Thats got all the earmarks of a major industry crash fueled by a debt created economy and a perfect storm for a sub-depression to boot.
  • diggeon, on 01/09/2008, -1/+4What is a good start?
  • CanIGetAWitness, on 01/09/2008, -1/+7I noticed today the Countrywide stock was about $45/sh a year ago and just closed over $5/sh today. Ouch!
  • dildoolielly, on 01/09/2008, -9/+32HI MY NAME IS PATTY AND I'M YOUR AGENT!
    I'm going to speak really loudly and excited about whatever over-priced piece of cr@p house I try to shove down your throat! Did you notice my makeup and perfume? I put WAY too much on. It's my way of trying to cover up the 45 pounds I gained after I have birth to my kid. My husband then lost interest in me and now has sex with Thai hookers when he goes on business trips for his WIlly Lomanesque sales trips! Can I interest you in this split-level Colonial which has gone 500% in the past six months? The markets fueled by low interest, interest only loans which will entrap you like an 18th century negro south of the Mason Dixon Line- hi, I'm Patty!
    • aussiekevin, on 01/09/2008, -4/+3Patty has feelings too, you know.
    • catalysis, on 01/09/2008, -1/+8That's a realtor, not mortgage job.
      • bizchris, on 01/09/2008, -0/+6I like that that's the only detail you choose to dispute.
    • smackafiyah, on 01/09/2008, -1/+1I know I heard this from somewhere, just can't remember where
  • themoosejuice, on 01/09/2008, -2/+5The mortgage company down the street from me is for sale. LOL. Its a small private company and used to have 10-15 workers cars in the parking lot daily, now it has a huge FOR SALE sign and one 1 car in the parking lot. I'm willing to bet the bank is getting ready to foreclose on the mortgage company building. Pretty sad. I'm sure it was fun while it lasted.
    • TheSpook, on 01/09/2008, -0/+2Yeah, the mortgager next door to my employer suddenly closed shop recently. Their sign came down almost as fast as the pink slips left the parking lot.
    • iloveGod08, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1Stores closing after a real estate bubble?! gasp - call the press!
  • ryos, on 01/09/2008, -0/+3It's too bad that this is happening in my life time, but I guess it was a long time in coming. The million dollar question for those of us potential buyers now is WHEN should we buy? I over heard some financial adviser guy saying he wouldn't be surprised if the price of the house today is the price of the house 10 years from now. (i.e. prices will go down for a while, and then in 10 years it's gonna bounce back up to the price today) Dunno if he was for real, but it gives me a chill.
    • krnldmp, on 01/09/2008, -3/+3The million dollar question for those of us potential buyers now is WHEN should we buy?

      Whenever you got the CASH.
      • TheSpook, on 01/09/2008, -0/+4Cash? Assuming <6% for a 30-year fixed, you might be better off investing that money for a greater return (if you know what you're doing) and putting the house on credit.
        • dood, on 01/10/2008, -0/+1Of course, if you're buying it to live in it, nothing beats the security of owning the house 100%. Lose your job? Eh. Not like you have a mortgage payment to worry about!
    • sjbdallas, on 01/09/2008, -1/+2I'd be tempted to look at the price history of a home before buying it. If it doubled or tripled over the last few years and someone is obviously stuck with an overpriced home/mortgage, then i'd avoid it.
    • dood, on 01/09/2008, -0/+2It's impossible to say without more information. Every region is different, and there are different types of properties for sale. There's surely ways to profit even now.
    • stfucupcake, on 01/09/2008, -1/+3The main difference now being that people actually will have to save up a down payment/hold a job to get a loan, unlike a year ago when any bozo with even lousy credit could get a loan.
  • amomsworld, on 01/09/2008, -1/+9This is going to be hazardous for our economy on so many long lasting levels its sickening...and the thing is, most of us could see it coming. But like the glutton that our Nation can be, we were okay with ignoring it, hoping the proverbial 'fat man' wouldn' t explode on us and we could partake of some of the binging.....Karma's a bitch isn't it?
  • rragle, on 01/09/2008, -2/+10Does this mean we can start to see a decline in those stupid dancing poser figures at weather.com?
  • lead2thehead, on 01/09/2008, -0/+9The banks who were pushing those predatory loans deserved to go out of business. I say good riddance.
  • stfucupcake, on 01/09/2008, -2/+7America needs to wake up from it's la-la land dream that credit is like candy for all the kids. It's time to buckle down.
    • TheSpook, on 01/09/2008, -0/+6Buying on credit isn't necessarily bad. Poor underwriting is, though.
    • iloveGod08, on 01/09/2008, -0/+3Exactly credit isn't necessarily bad, but when you have an income of $30,000 a year and purchase an arm over 30 years on a $270k house you and the bank deserve to get burned in that situation.
  • 1derfulWally, on 01/09/2008, -1/+1You can read what some of the victims of this have to say at www.ILostMyMortgageJob.com
    • lead2thehead, on 01/09/2008, -1/+9"I'm a mortgage broker who offered ARMs with sub-prime teaser rates. I knew that my client's payments would double after a year, but I didn't explain that to them because I was making a SH*TLOAD on commission. Later they all defaulted on their loans and my bank went out of business. I don't understand how this could have happened to me.... boo hoo hoo .... I'm such a victim."
  • dkern, on 01/09/2008, -1/+2Since our land value was about the only thing holding our economy together- I guess its curtain on street corners for a while!
  • rip747, on 01/09/2008, -3/+6Good! My brother is in the mortgage industry right now and is doing great. The only people that had their job eliminated were the scumbag sub-prime lenders and brokers. You see these types of people all the time in the industry. When the market is good, they open broker offices everywhere and lend to anyone. Half the time they forge W-2 or exaggerate 1033s so the people qualify for the loan. As you see now, these people should have never qualified for those loans and they can't repay them. They're the ones that drive the market down and the surplus up. They're the reason why the 400K house you bought 18 months ago is now wroth 250K. Don't feel sorry for these scumbags. Remember that the ones that are still in business are the ones that play by the rules.
    • amiches, on 01/09/2008, -0/+5Wrong. Responsible lenders are being affected by the crisis as much as the charlatans.
      • lead2thehead, on 01/09/2008, -2/+0And what exactly are you basing this on?
        • amiches, on 01/09/2008, -0/+0the fact that the credit crisis means a general economic slowdown, banks aren't getting very good ROI because of that slowdown, which means they have lower risk tolerance for borrowers, which cycles back again as a reduction in overall available credit. you can't limit the current market situation solely to the subprime market, it is a correction but it's a big enough one that it's likely to send us into recession.
      • iloveGod08, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1It's common sense, when the price of homes overall go down 30% and practically the only way to purchase a house is credit, the banks lose the ability to make loans for 30% more to good customers!
    • HAKdragon, on 01/09/2008, -0/+6Actually, my friend worked at a bank that did sub-prime business. He lost his job because of the sub-prime fall out, however he worked in IT. The lay offs aren't just people who dealt with sub-primes.
    • AndyB555, on 01/27/2008, -0/+0Unfortunately, they didn't have to "forge W-2 or exaggerate 1033s, the industry would use programs that didn't factor in income or programs where you just stated you income and the lender would underwrite the loan priced slightly higher then if they submitted documentation. If it was priced right (more expensive), less borrowers would of been put into these programs. It was this inaccurate pricing that seems to be the genesis of the credit crunch. - - - By the way, there is a ton of mortgage companies hiring. Check out sites like www.FindMortgageJobs.com.
  • charmaniac, on 01/09/2008, -0/+10Today, Countrywide insisted that it will not declare bankruptcy. Of course, that means bankruptcy is imminent.
    • TheSpook, on 01/09/2008, -0/+3I'm not surprised. They seemed to be in the business to lend to deadbeats. My wife and I have immaculate credit. While shopping around for a rate, we gave them a call, and then summarily laughed at their deal. Mistake 1: Only lending to sub-primes. Mistake 2: Not offering competitive rates for those who are not.
  • or212000, on 01/09/2008, -3/+0bad news
  • N3M3515, on 01/09/2008, -3/+13In other news today Bush announces that the economy is "looking good".
    • N3M3515, on 01/09/2008, -1/+5The funniest/most ironic part about this is its the 100% truth, I was watching CNN this evening and saw bush on CNN stating the above. He must have been looking at China's economy.
    • roberto_deneero, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1He keeps talking about how many new jobs he created. He STILL doesn't understand that 5 new McDonald's jobs still doesn't equal even 1 lost high tech job. We now live in Bush's minimum wage heaven! Yay!
    • HunterSeeker42, on 01/09/2008, -0/+0Stop blaming Bush for all your problems. Not that hes a great president or anything, but he didn't cause this crap to happen. We did.
  • warlokaz2004, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1I worked at Countrywide from feb till oct last year -- the corporate culture there was just depressing before I got canned -- you didn't know if you'd show up and find all your stuff boxed up and left with security who would 'walk you out' ... I got canned in October and frankly, everyone there was acting like they couldn't get out fast enough. Countrywide is going to implode, and this housing market will take at least 10 years to correct itself.
  • roberto_deneero, on 01/09/2008, -1/+4Who cares. During the past 5 years when the mortgage industry ignored all rules of sensible lending and stole a lot of money from people, making these recently laid off employees a TON of cash. I don't feel bad at all. They ought to repay the money they stole while they're at it.
    • AndyB555, on 01/27/2008, -0/+0How about investment bank? They had an appetite for these risky loans and priced them incorrectly based on feedback from credit rating agencies and Wall St. They loved these loans so much, many of them bought mortgage companies (i.e. First Franklin bought by ML, Saxon bought by Morgan Stanley, MortgageIT bought by Deutsche Bank, Encore bought by Bear, and more, but I can't recall.) The other traditional mortgage companies had to keep up with the products the investment bankers were able to offer with their mortgage divisions.
  • TinkerBrat, on 01/09/2008, -1/+2It is common sense - unethical practices for 10 years, credit debt the highest since the great depression and everyone who thinks they can afford what they cannot!
  • ScienceDoc, on 01/09/2008, -1/+1I don't feel any remorse. What they did was legalized theft. Hard to feel sorry for people that were ripping other people off.
  • Czar, on 01/09/2008, -0/+2*Sigh* All the hate directed at the mortgage professionals is unreasonable.... Ever think about picking up a book and reading about the loan process? Doubtful.

    In my office, I hung a mantra that stated "**People don't want educated, they simply want the loan**". This proved true, over and over and over again. Shifty customers requesting loans that THEY could not afford. Who is at fault? It's YOUR money, why go to a stranger and ask them to help you spend it? I would NEVER blindly sign my name to a 100-200k loan without learning the jargon first (and yes! it's all disclosed...)

    Have you ever walked into Best Buys and been instructed from the clerk, "Sir, your credit and income is shaky, perhaps you should by the Celeron desktop rather then the Quad Core".
    • encognito, on 01/10/2008, -0/+2You are absolutely right. People need to educate themselves before they buy anything major but most people are LAZY, IRRESPONSIBLE AND STUPID. Nobody put a gun to those idiots heads and made them sign for a loan that they couldn't afford. You walked into my office, remember? But the minute they couldn't refinance to get some quick money out of their house probably to spend on more junk they don't need, it's your brokers fault?
  • wifirewire2, on 01/09/2008, -1/+1***** all those bitches
  • stiller66, on 01/10/2008, -0/+0yet see how this guy still turn this sub-prime to his benefit by shorting Countrywide: http://www.vestopia.com/IDs/Profile.aspx?piid=51
  • Truzseeker, on 01/11/2008, -0/+1Unemployment spreads as Foreclosure storm hits major cities http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_2580 ...
  • tfhehir, on 07/01/2008, -0/+0Mortgage giant Countrywide Financial has been exposed for implementing unlawful and overly aggressive lending practices. Naturally, Americans expect that such infractions should not go unpunished by government, however Countrywide’s CEO Angelo Mozilo may escape with just a slap on the wrists. The Washington Post has uncovered information showing that Bank of America, currently in the process of acquiring Countrywide’s assets, happens to be one of the prime authors of the Countrywide bailout bill. Don’t allow powerful heads of corporations to escape the legal system, while making money and laying off employees. Vote in Corporate Accountability International’s Corporate Hall of Shame. Google it today!!
  • tfhehir, on 07/07/2008, -0/+0Voting closed this past weekend for Corporate Accountability International’s Corporate Hall of Shame. Based on the votes of over 8,000 Americans, Archer Daniels Midland, Wal-Mart, and Blackwater Securities have been declared the worst corporate actors in 2008. With induction into the Hall of Shame, these companies can look forward to scrutiny by Corporate Accountability's research team as well as public requests for corporate reforms. Lookout for upcoming 2009 polls, opening after the New Year.
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