Even with the global financial crisis and current stricter lending standards, managers of local mortgage companies say they haven’t seen a drastic drop-off in business of late.

Ellen Pedersen, a Bank of Utah mortgage manager in Tooele, said things have been slower at her company, but perhaps not as slow as one might think.

“Things have slowed down because we’re just not giving out as many second mortgages, or any subprime mortgages at all,” she said. “Things are a little bit slower, but not terribly slower, and I haven’t had people running in here saying the sky is falling.”

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual cost study, mortgage companies nationwide lost an average of $560 on every loan they originated in 2007, which was a drop from $50 per loan losses in 2006. The national mortgage industry has also been cutting jobs because of ever-tightening credit markets. Citigroup Inc., the fifth-largest home lender in the country, recently announced it would eliminate approximately 500 jobs.

However, local mortgage lenders say Tooele County’s stable housing market and pool of buyers with good credit ratings are helping them avoid the problems besieging national lenders.

Hal Brostrom, owner of Westgate Capital Lending in Grantsville, said he hasn’t seen a drastic drop-off in terms of the number of mortgages he has written in recent months.

“Everyone is preaching this doom and gloom, but things are not as bad as everything that’s coming out in the televised media,” Brostrom said. “On a national scale things might be really rugged, but we’re doing just fine locally. In fact, we’re so busy we have no time to ponder what’s going on with the national scene. We haven’t seen the drop here that other places are experiencing.”

Brostrom said local mortgage lenders have been helped by the fact that home prices have held relatively stable in Tooele County.

Things are still business as usual with us, and there is still enough money out there to loan,” he said. “Our job is to find the right type of loan that works for each individual borrower, but it’s just harder now for people to qualify. Brokers just have to work harder to find the right kind of loan for their borrowers. We’ve still got the same volume of loans, but we just have a little more work to do for each loan. It also helps that there are local programs out there like the Tooele County Rural Housing Program.”

Jeff England, co-manager for Axiom Financial in Tooele, said even though his business has slowed down, he’s still writing mortgages for qualified buyers.

“If someone has decent credit, good job stability and maybe a little bit of a down payment, they should still be able to get a home loan,” England said. “We also have 100 percent financing options available to people with good credit. The people who can’t qualify are the ones who haven’t taken care of their credit or have low credit scores. We also run a pretty lean office here, so we haven’t had to try to increase business or make any cuts to our own costs.”

JoAnne Valdez, owner of Deseret Peak Mortgage, said her business is also still hanging in there, even though things are not as busy as she would like them to be.

“Stricter lending standards have made it harder for people to qualify and appraisals have been tightened up as well, but we still see enough people out there who can qualify for a home loan,” she said. “The negative coverage in the national media makes a lot of people think they can’t qualify for a loan, and so it scares them off and they don’t even try. However, Tooele County’s overall housing market is doing better that other places nationwide, and I think that’s because we’re more affordable.”

Mark Nelsen, owner of B & D Title Company of Tooele, said his business is also down with fewer people refinancing, buying or selling homes locally — and he said the media is to blame.

“People have all been listening to the news and been scared by what they hear, so they’re all afraid to borrow money,” Nelsen said. “It’s hard to sell a home when you have no buyers. The local mortgage companies all have money to lend here, but just not as many people are coming in.”

Nelsen hopes buyers will come to understand that the local real estate market is in much better shape than the national market.

“In Tooele County, home prices are down and have created a better buy, and there are plenty of houses and lots for people to build on for sale. However, the fact that people are scared by what has been said in the media is what’s holding us back. We have to wait for lenders or Realtors to buy or sell before we can get involved, so we’re hurting because we’re the last link in the process.”

Pedersen believes the mortgage market’s long-term prospects remain excellent.

“It will always be the American dream to own a house and have your own space, and a lot of people don’t want to rent an apartment or live with their parents the rest of their lives,” he said. “Even with all the traffic out there, people are still buying cars, so when things get tougher in the home buying business, people aren’t just going to stop getting mortgages. I think the media likes to use a lot of scare tactics to make people think they can’t get a loan or any money. The media makes the situation much more serious than it really is.”

Doug Radunich: dougrad@tooeletranscript.com