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Mortgage, Home-Equity Direct Mail Halved in 2008

Mortgage and home-equity lenders have reduced direct mail volume by 50% in the first half of 2008 compared with the year-earlier period - as a result of faltering home sales, new legislation, credit woes and consumer anxiety, according to Mintel Comperemedia.

Lenders sent an estimated 750 million secured-loan mail pieces from January to June 2008. In 2007, they sent 1.5 billion during the same period, according to Mintel:

Secured-loan direct mail has been steadily declining each quarter since the first quarter of 2007. Mintel’s second-quarter 2008 estimates show mortgage and home-equity mail volume 10% lower than during first-quarter 2008 (360 million versus 400 million):

The mortgage sector has fueled recent declines, with lenders reducing mortgage offers by 53% in the first half of 2008 (compared with the first half of 2007), according to Mintel. Home-equity product offers dropped 44% in volume during the same period.

Mortgage direct mail volume appears to have increased slightly in the second quarter of 2008 (from first-quarter 2008): Lenders mailed 8% more mortgage offers during the second-quarter 2008 (240 million) than during first-quarter 2008 (220 million).

Major players Chase and Capital One drove this quarterly increase in mortgage direct mail: Chase increased its mail volume 90%, while Capital One boosted offers nearly 140% between quarters.

“Though mortgage mail volume remains far lower than a year ago, this is the first uptick we’ve seen in two years,” said Farah Huq, senior analyst at Mintel. “It could be because spring is a prime ‘buying’ season or it could be a sign that lenders are slowly beginning to increase direct mail. Still, we don’t expect significantly higher mail volume until the market settles and consumer confidence returns.”

Home-equity mail continues to plummet in the second quarter, however, bringing overall totals down, according to Mintel.