Mortgage bankers to talk changing industry

The AP reports:

Higher borrowing costs are expected to lower the pace of mortgage refinancings and home sales, which would likely in turn slow housing price gains. Mortgage bankers processed a record $3.9 trillion of home loans in 2003 and $2.8 trillion of loans in 2004. This year, some market observers expect $2.7 trillion worth of mortgages to be underwritten.

Some hints of a mortgage banking slowdown have shown up in third-quarter earnings reports. National City Corp. of Cleveland said mortgage banking revenue plummeted to $183 million from $370 million a year earlier.

A slowing in sales is apparent in Commerce Department data, which found that the market for new homes had 4.7 months of supply, the highest for the year, and an indication that houses are taking longer to sell. Existing homes for sale also hit that 4.7 month supply level in August, according to the National Association of Realtors.

"It is no longer a seller's market. It is more of a buyer's market,"

You can bet fewer people will be employed in "all things related to real estate".