The American Financing Corporation has informed nearly two-thirds of its remaining workers that they will be out of work after rising interest rates have cut demand for mortgages more than expected.
The mortgage company, once one of the state’s largest mortgage lenders, said it would permanently lay off 194 of the 305 employees at its Aurora headquarters at 3045 S. Parker Road. Filed Wednesday with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Under Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice or WARN Act.
Employees will be notified of the layoffs on Tuesday, and the layoffs will be in two parts, the first beginning November 18th and the second around December 23rd, two days before Christmas.
“General economic conditions have unexpectedly and dramatically reduced AFC sales. These economic conditions and the resulting shortfall in sales are beyond AFC’s control. “We could not predict the speed or extent of the decline in sales in the second half of the month and into early November,” Benjamin Ross, the company’s general counsel, wrote in the WARN letter.
Interest rates on 30-year mortgages recently topped 7%, starting at about 3% at the start of the year, but have started to fall again, falling from 7.14% to 6.9% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly report. went down to
Nationwide, mortgage refinancings are down 88% from a year ago, and loans to buy homes are down 46%, the MBA said Wednesday.
American Financing ran a popular and funny commercial featuring Peyton Manning to boost the business of refinancing mortgages. The company had 900 employees last year, according to the company. top workplaceMay, American Financing reportedly cut an undisclosed number of staffThe reduction will reduce headcount at Aurora headquarters to 111 people.
A call to the company for more information was not returned. Unlike layoffs in the technology industry, where labor shortages are chronic and skills are in high demand, much of the mortgage industry is reeling from the curtailment of activity.
Mortgage lending contributes significantly to what is known as the financial activity supersector. Colorado’s employment in its supersector fell from 180,000 in January to 175,500 in September. Over the past year, financial employment has fallen 2.5%, making him the only supersector to decline each year in Colorado.
Companies that offer homes and resell them to consumers, called iBuyers, have also announced major layoffs or outright closures. RedfinNow is the Instant His Offers subsidiary of Seattle brokerage Redfin. close the business And let go of 264 employees.When Opendoor, the biggest player in this fieldsaid earlier this month it would furlough 550 people, or 18% of its workforce, after overpaying for a home it purchased.
In addition, the slowdown in single-family home sales, 34% Statewide Decline Last October Not only is it causing the withdrawal of real estate brokers, Demand has dropped significantly, leading to high cancellation rates for existing contracts signed months ago.