Frank McMahon, chief financial officer of The First American Corp. in Santa Ana, said during a conference call today that the market for securities backed by commercial loans dropped dramatically in August.The CRE slump may be here.
He said it’s natural for borrowing costs to rise and price appreciation to slow on commercial real estate as a result.
Also, Padilla notes that First American is cutting 1,300 jobs, and that there are rumors of large layoffs at Countrywide:
National Mortgage News reports that Countrywide Financial Corp. may cut 7,000 to 10,000 jobs, citing “industry officials close to the situation.”