Mr. Cooper, one of the nation's largest mortgage servicers, plans to hire an additional 2,000 employees by the end of this year as record low interest rates spur home purchases and mortgage refinancings.
The Coppell, Texas-based company said the jobs range from loan officers and mortgage underwriters to home advisers, who serve hybrid roles servicing existing loans and originating new ones, and are work-from-home positions until at least 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 97% of Mr. Cooper's more than 9,000 employees have worked remotely since March.
Mr. Cooper recently reported a record-breaking second quarter with loan originations generating pretax income of $433 million. Its revenue topped $2.6 billion last year. It serviced 3.8 million customers with loans totaling $643 billion and wrote $40 billion in new loans in 2019.
"Thanks to our team members, Mr. Cooper produced the strongest operating results in our history last quarter," said CEO Jay Bray in a statement. "While we continue to grow and expand … we remain committed to developing our team and providing them with the resources they need to succeed."
For example, the company said, it provides specialized training and licensing programs for new hires just entering the mortgage industry. It also boasts what it describes as a "robust diversity and inclusion program" and employee perks such as down payment and mortgage assistance, adoption and family planning assistance and paid time off for volunteering.
"In today's very aggressive market, we know people are making job decisions not only based on a company's response to the current crisis we're facing but also based on the benefits they offer and the culture they have created," Bray said.
Mr. Cooper's median pay was $54,242 in 2019, according to a regulatory filing earlier this year.
The company said when its workforce returns to offices, new hires could work in Coppell, Chandler, Ariz., or Santa Ana, Calif. It said it already hired 3,000 new employees this year.
Thousands of Americans have applied for home loans this year as interest rates tumbled below 3%. In the first half of 2020, more than 75,000 North Texas homeowners refinanced their houses. And home sales in the area were up by 25% from last year in July.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported Wednesday that home lending was one of the region's economic bright spots in recent weeks.
"Loan volume increased over the past six weeks, driven by a sharp rise in residential real estate lending," Dallas Fed economists wrote.
But they also cautioned that credit standards and loan terms are tightening "with expectations for future loan demand turning slightly negative."
Mr. Cooper, previously known as Nationstar Mortgage, rebranded in 2017. Last year, the company acquired Farmers Branch-based competitor Pacific Union Financial and expanded its mortgage origination business.
