Irvine-based mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. said Tuesday that the number of loans it made in October was $5 billion, 5.7% lower than a year earlier.
The real estate investment trust has made $50.4 billion in loans so far in 2006, up 10% from a year earlier. Last month’s loan volume was 6.4% higher than September’s figures, the company said.
The bulk of New Century’s loans go to borrowers with imperfect credit, known as subprime mortgages. The company has made a point to go after borrowers with more solid credit, but the volume of those types of loans declined 22% in October from a year ago, coming in at $700 million.
Subprime loans were 86% of New Century’s total loan production in October. They were 95% of the company’s total loans in the third quarter.
In September, the average New Century subprime loan was at 8.4%. That’s down from 8.5% in September.
The October results come a week after New Century reported a 45% decrease in third-quarter profits. The company said it expected to see its overall mortgage lending drop 10% in 2007.
