Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. is looking to sublease its 200,000 square foot Irvine, CA headquarters amid the ongoing housing downturn.
The mortgage lender currently pays roughly $7 million a year for the enormous office space, and holds the lease until 2016.
But recent moves to cut jobs and limit nearly all lending have left the company with a whole lot of space, and not much to fill it.
According to the Orange County Business Journal, the lender is marketing all seven floors of Impac Center, a building designed to hold nearly 800 employees, which is currently believed to be only a third full.
Impac originally leased the office park in early 2005, and also holds leases for three office buildings in Newport Beach, CA, some of which are also under sublease, according to an SEC filing.
The Orange County Business Journal reported that “roughly 5% of the county’s 98 million square feet of office space had been leased to mortgage companies,” and that about 2 million square feet are back on the market as a result of the current mortgage mess.
About two weeks ago, Impac halted nearly all lending including Alt-A, warehouse, and commercial lending, while also cutting 144 jobs and omitting its dividend. The lender had cut 350 jobs a month prior.
After a quick visit to the Impac website, it appears that the lender is only offering Fannie Mae backed mortgage programs.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday, COO Richard James Johnson sold 71,100 shares of company stock.
Shares of Impac continue to hover above their 52-week low of 98 cents, at $1.58 a share, well below their annual high of $9.99.