Overture's General Manager of Mortgage Finance Linda Simmons's latest column, "A Bridge to Somewhere" has been published in the December 2009 issue of Mortgage Banking magazine:

Building a bridge can be a political hot potato in so many ways. Are you attempting to clear the way for a new destination to jump-start prospective development at the other end? Or are you trying to replace a highly utilized but perhaps worn (out) connection between two already developed arenas? Are you betting short-term costs against longer-term and hopefully higher revenues? Will your political capital last?

So as we close out 2009, bridge construction seems like an appropriate metaphor for retail and wholesale production. Where are we headed—to some place of innovation? Or are we building a retail/wholesale production bridge that is wider and higher, but positioned over a known body of water?

Despite lingering low rates and some remarkable production volumes in 2009, both our 2010 destination and the known body of water seem fuzzy. The benchmarks we used to define "normal" are history. Industry innovators are doing workouts, not production. A $2 trillion origination year barely bubbles up on "how are you doing?" exchanges.

Given the unrest in the overall financial markets, a 2010 origination projection of $1.5 trillion comes with its own funeral music. Market leaders include the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Ginnie Mae. None of these factors are new developments, but which ones are most relevant for constructing a 2010 direction?

To read the full article and learn about the factors that will affect the mortgage business in 2010, along with ways to take advantage of its evolution, click here.