Recently, Zillow announced that it was hiring its own employees to be real estate agents. While Redfin pioneered this approach, other firms such as Opendoor and Offerpad are also hiring agents for their new brokerage services. Mike DelPrete, a well-known real estate tech strategist, observed, “All the largest real estate disruptors are moving in […]
Zillow’s Move to Salaried Real Estate Agents Read More »
As we approach the end of the year, it is a good time to reflect on strategic challenges facing mortgage sales groups. While the housing finance industry has had a terrific year in terms of volume, it is clear that the consumer’s home loan buying journey has forever changed. In my view, if lenders
What Mortgage Bankers Can Learn from Netflix Read More »
Last week, I spoke to a leading sales group in mortgage banking on what it will take for lenders and originators to succeed in 2025. I realize that it is hard to focus on the future when the present is so hectic in mortgage origination but, 2025 is only 1,500 days from now. It will
Four Keys to Working Smarter Read More »
The 100% commission pay structure has long been considered the gold standard in mortgage lending as the best way to motivate originators to generate more volume. Implicit in a 100% commission pay structure is that a large reward is available for sales professionals who do well. Lenders assume that originators who fail to perform will
The Flaws of 100% Commission Pay Plans Read More »
On September 2, 2020, Quicken Loans announced its first earning results as a publicly traded company. While the lending giant’s performance was terrific, there were a few things that I think were especially noteworthy: their gain on sale was a whopping 519 bps; and they are serious about obtaining 25% market share. It was no
Why a Convenient Loan Process Matters More Than Ever Read More »
Last week, the MBA reported that 2020 has been the best year in the industry since 2003 and that the volume generated to date is already $1 trillion more than in 2019. One of the few positive spots in the economy has been the housing market where there are not enough real estate sellers and
$3 Trillion in Mortgage Volume and its Unintended Consequences Read More »
Last week, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced its first-ever Diversity & Inclusion Transparency Report. According to a recent Fortune article, “women and racially diverse talent now account for 65% of [PwC] entry-level hires, 7% of whom identify as Black, 12% as Latinx.” Shannon Schuyler, PwC Chief Purpose and Inclusion Officer, said the company’s goal is to
Why Large Mortgage Firms Need to Issue Annual Diversity & Inclusion Reports Read More »
Last week, shock waves rippled through mortgage banking after 50 basis points were unexpectedly added to refinance loan fees. This action took a lot of lenders by surprise and sent many originators into panic mode. This is yet another example that the business world is filled with events that can seemingly come out of nowhere.
What Car Salespeople Can Teach Originators Read More »
Every day, we are witnessing changes that many predicted would be coming to the mortgage landscape, but now they have arrived. From online loan processing to video conferencing, our industry is undergoing a fundamental shift. While it is hard to concentrate on the future when the present is so robust with refinance volume, mortgage
Good Managers and the Remote Working World Read More »
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the normal way of doing things is being redefined on a daily basis. Many financial experts consider this global pandemic to be a “black swan” event. From Nassim Taleb’s \”black swan” theory, the term refers to rare, unexpected events of large magnitude with potentially severe consequences. While predicting the future
Does Your Sales Strategy Align with How Consumers Want to Buy? Read More »
