Mastering Mortgage Complexity: Expert Support and Diverse Products
Mortgage banking is one of those products that’s gotten more and more complicated over time.
The ability to take an application has changed because a lot of applicants really want to rely on an omni-channel or the ability to call, to apply online, or come belly up and face-to-face to somebody. So you really need to support all the different channels.
Also, the disclosures in the regulatory environment have become so stringent that larger lenders that really hit those big market goals and take the lion’s share are specialists in home lending. So there’s no longer the generalist that can just take an application and bring it back to somebody to review. There’s several steps involved and it’s almost like an assembly line. So there’s the components where a good application is taken, it’s reviewed, it’s underwritten. A lot of that, again, using technology right up front. So automated underwriting is really critical.
And instead of three or four flavors of programs, the top lenders are offering 50 different loan programs. So the first-time buyer is not a product, it’s 10 or 20 different products. So being able to serve that applicant’s needs with the best product possible and when they want it. They’re not looking for somebody to get back to them eventually. They want instant gratification. They want a subject matter expert to talk to right now. You know, banks and credit unions quite often, they’re struggling because most often a small to mid-sized financial institution has folks that are working in several different hats in the same role. So their IT team that’s setting up their systems can’t focus on newest practices for mortgage banking. And that’s really advancing quite fast right now.
FACTS:
64% of borrowers considered two or more lending institutions before they selected their most recent home lender. Source ICE Mortgage Technology 2024 Borrower Insights Survey
The purchase share of total originations, by dollar volume was 85 percent. Source: Mortgage Bankers Association 2024 Q1 Quarterly Performance Report.
Effective use of technology can produce up to 8 days of savings in closing cycle time. Source: Freddie Mac Single Family 2024 Cost to Originate Study.
