Mortgage and Home Equity Direct Mail Down

Lenders pull back as housing slump, credit crunch continue2007 showed a sharp decline in mortgage and home equity offers mailed to Americans, according to new findings from Mintel Comperemedia. Lenders sent approximately 2.6 billion direct mail pieces during the year, down nearly a third (30%) from the 3.7 billion sent to consumers in 2006.“People have tightened up spending, home sales are down, and there’s not a lot of faith in the market,” says Farah Huq, market research manager at Mintel Comperemedia. “With fear of recession and many Americans struggling just to make ends meet, it makes sense that lenders have backed off direct mail advertising for the time being.”