Mortgage Loans Show Decline in 3rd Quarter

Real estate loan volume in Ventura County in the third quarter showed a slightly steeper year-to-year decline than that experienced throughout Southern California and statewide.

Mortgage loans in the county totaled $958 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, a drop of 9.9% from $1.063 billion in the same period last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The decline in the county compares with year-to-year reductions of 7.4% in Southern California and 4.1% statewide.

Financial institutions are jockeying for position, seeking increased business in the state’s recovering real estate market, DataQuick said in its quarterly publication, DataQuick Report. The report covers both commercial and residential loan activity.

Donald L. Cohn, the reporting service’s chief executive, said loan volume has turned upward in recent months. He said he expects the trend to continue the rest of the year.

The report said adjustable-rate mortgages were chosen by 26.5% of the state’s home buyers during the third quarter, down from 52.5% a year ago.

Bank of America, with 7.5% of loans issued in the latest quarter, is the leader in California’s highly competitive real estate lending market, DataQuick said. American Savings, with 3%, ranks second.