With 2002 being a record year in terms of originations, in large part due to a high amount of refinancings, one would expect every mortgage broker to report not only had their volume increased over 2001, it did so by a substantial margin.

But if the preliminary sampling of the Broker magazine 2002 mortgage broker survey results is any sign, a large percentage of brokers saw their volume grow by less than 25%, with some firms even reporting their volume had actually declined when compared with 2001.

By the way, those who still are looking to participate in our survey can contact Rosalyn Malloy at rosalyn.malloy@thomsonmedia.com.

Of the 50-company sample pulled by Broker magazine, 11 (or slightly over 20%) of the total reported their volumes had dropped when looking at 2002 vs. 2001. There is one company that reported a decline of 47%.

There were another seven companies whose year-over-year production grew by less than 25%.

In the sample that was published in the April/May 2002 issue of Broker, only five firms reported gains of less than 20%; only one of those companies had a loss of business.

On the good news side, eight firms had doubled their business or even better between 2001 and 2002.

In final published results of our 2001 survey, there were 13 brokerages that reported volumes of over $1 billion during that year. In the sample only one of those firms has reported thus far; two others are reporting their volumes broke that barrier as opposed to 2001.

So the final numbers may paint a much brighter picture on how the mortgage broker industry did last year.