• The New York Times, Tuesday, February 19, 2008 10:30 AM

The mortgage market may be in the dumps but that hasn't slowed down some of the industry's top players from cranking out the ads. Among the current offerings: Countrywide Financial's brag that "No one can do what Countrywide can" and that the company "can show you the way home;" Wachovia's "Approved" stamp; and Bank of America's vow that "home ownership is the best medicine." Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors is running a national TV campaign on the idea that there has never been a better time to buy a home. So, despite rising foreclosures, defaults, lawsuits and investigations, the mortgage industry has not reduced its ad spending.

Some industry watchers say spending will remain strong into the spring, a prime buying time, although consumer advocates say the ads continue to be misleading. "There's been huge scrutiny on these companies, but they are continuing to advertise," says Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League. "Many of these companies are bleeding, and these ads are a way to get more money into the door." Mortgage companies spent over $400 million on ads in the third quarter of 2007, higher than what it spent at the peak of the housing boom, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

Still, it is very much a case of caveat emptor market: "There may be some good, legitimate offers," says Frank Dorman, a spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission. "But it's a good time for consumers to be especially wary."

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