by Calculated Risk on 5/20/2006 10:15:00 PM

Here is OC Register's Jonathan Lansner Q&A with local mortgage broker Norm Bour: Insider Q&A: A lender's perspective. A few excerpts:

Q. How slow is it?

A. No question loan originations are down, both in the purchase and the refi market. Speaking for myself we're down by 40-50% year-to-date since last year and certainly the year prior and most people I know are saying the same.

Q. What does the kind of business you're doing today say about the state of the O.C. housing market?

A. I can only speak for myself, but ... We're concerned. ... If the economy DOES become soft (likely), and people are pressured, will they SELL to get out of their jam or refi to get cash out even at a higher rate than they have now?

Q. What's the most popular loan today? Why? Is that different from, say, a year ago?

A. ... the majority of people are still going with (adjustable) ARMs, though more hybrid ARMs rather than the more volatile Option ARMs. I'd say 5/1 (5-year-fixed,) 7/1 (7-year-fixed,) and 10/1 (10-year-fixed,) are the majority of what people want.