The total of real estate loans on the bank’s books have dropped precipitously in recent years. It reported nearly $3.1 billion in real estate loans at the end of last year, less than half of the $6.3 billion it had at the end of 2019.USAA Bank is not alone. Amid tight inventory, rising prices and higher mortgage rates, many lenders have been pulling back as buyers stay on the sidelines. Rocket, Wells Fargo and Better.com are among the companies that have also laid off employees in recent months.
Applications to refinance dipped 6 percent from the previous week and were down 80 percent year-over-year.“Overall application activity declined last week despite lower rates, which is an indication of the still volatile time of the year for housing activity,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist.