Lenders See Fewer New Mortgages As Interest Rates Rise.

Byline: Richard Mize

Apr. 27--The nation's lenders will trade the big "T" for the less illustrious "B" this year.

But the $980 billion in residential home loans to be originated in 2000 isn't too shabby, the president-elect of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America said Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

The projected dip from $1.3 trillion last year and $1.5 trillion in 1998 is neither dizzying nor dismaying, Andrew D. Woodward told members of the Oklahoma Mortgage Bankers Association at their annual meeting.

It's to be expected in the face of rising interest rates. As the cost of mortgages goes up, the number of new loans goes down. …