Earlier this March, ICE Mortgage Technology hosted their annual mortgage finance conference in Las Vegas for leaders and providers within the industry.
2024 marked the first occasion of the ICE Experience conference since the mortgage technology company acquired Black Knight. The Venture Solutions team was in attendance to capture the latest and greatest trends in mortgage. Here are our top 4 takeaways from this year's event:
While the housing market is still stifled by shortages and sky-high interest rates, the primary concern for those in the mortgage industry revolves around taking the opportunity during this "down time" to streamline and restructure the full loan and home-buying lifecycle. Traditional processes need to be cheaper and more efficient, which can best be achieved through digitization and automation through third-party partners. Many of the break-out sessions throughout the conference were either debuting products, platforms, and programs, or showcasing updates and improvements to said preexisting products.
Simply put, the name of the game is “getting with the times.” Now is the time to seize the opportunity.
The industry thinks that borrowers typically choose lenders based on online research and offered rates, that online reviews and presence were the all-important “first impression.” Instead, research across the board shows that reviews are only what customers use to vet your business; finding a lender is heavily dependent on personal endorsements and referrals from past customers and those within the industry.
A shift in mindset is needed for the sales side of the mortgage industry, especially concerning what drives retention, referrals, and customer experience. It pays to be a good friend: a productive, seamless, positive loan officer-borrower relationship is crucial to accruing new business.
Technology should foster greater connections between lenders and borrowers, but lenders are not seizing the opportunity correctly. Borrowers want more far communication from their lenders, on their terms, in what should ideally be a collaborative process.
Lenders should be more proactive in their borrower relationships, which means having access to technology and processes that make communications less time-consuming and more productive. Consistent communication that is both transactional and relational is king.
The middle class is struggling; because the housing market is facing high mortgage and interest rates as well as low supply, young people are losing hope that owning a home is achievable.
The mortgage industry can’t depend on the market to change. Instead, we must change what is within our control:
