Mortgage brokers rake it in
Mortgage brokers have become the equivalent of the high-flying Wall Streeters a couple of decades ago according to this Wall Street Journal story (subcription required):
[A]n unprecedented boom in home-loan refinancings, spurred by interest rates that have dipped to their lowest levels in decades. Of the $2.5 trillion in mortgages taken out last year, roughly 60% was handled by the nation's 120,000 brokers, up from just 20% in 1987, according to David Olson, managing director of Wholesale Access Mortgage Research & Consulting Inc., which conducts extensive industry surveys. Other industry analysts peg brokers' market share at 40%.
Last year, the average mortgage broker made $120,000, while owners of brokerage firms took home $400,000, Mr. Olson calculates. Both figures are double the levels of only two years ago. At least 5%, or some 6,000 brokers, earned $1 million or more.