The wholesale lender, which focuses on underserved home buyers with subpar credit, will enter a housing market that has shown steady improvement during the last year.
California-based Carrington Mortgage Services, which focuses on underserved home buyers with subpar credit, is now licensed to do business in Nevada. The wholesale lender will enter a housing market that has shown steady improvement during the last year.
According to Zillow, Nevada home values have gone up 14% during the past year, and it predicts they will rise 5.7% within the next year. The median home value in Nevada was $189,800 as of Sept. 30. The Las Vegas housing market, in particular, has shown significant improvement.
The city ranks No. 1 on the latest Freddie Mac Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) for the most improved housing market on a year-to-year basis. MiMi assesses the long-term stability of areas by looking at home purchase applications, payment-to-income ratios (changes in home purchasing power based on house prices, mortgage rates and household income), on-time mortgage payments and unemployment rates. According to Freddie, the Las Vegas housing market has improved 21.53% from August 2013 to August 2014.
Carrington announced earlier this year it would focus on borrowers in the sub-640 FICO range. The lender lowered its minimum credit requirement to a FICO score of 550 and expanded its guidelines on several FHA, VA and USDA loan programs.
The wholesaler also plans to create up to 360 new jobs. Carrington will expand its operations in Westfield, Indiana, and invest $3.17 million to renovate a 77,000-square-foot facility in Westfield. The facility will be in operation by the end of the year, according to Carrington. The lender currently employs more than 1,000 people nationwide, including 180 in Indiana. The expansion will create up to 360 new, high-wage jobs by 2019, the company stated.
