The Lenders One Cooperative polled participants at its annual summer conference on key trends in the mortgage industry, finding that the majority (58 percent) are concerned about the impact of the November presidential elections on the mortgage industry.
Despite the uncertainty an election year can bring, the survey suggests that mortgage bankers are optimistic when it comes to first-time homebuyers. In fact, 66 percent of respondents believe first-time homebuyers will offer the greatest opportunity to drive business growth in 2017. The second greatest opportunity lies in increasing rental prices that are pushing buyers to purchase homes instead of continuing to rent (20 percent). On the flip side, 39 percent of respondents believe that higher interest rates could have the greatest negative impact on the mortgage industry’s growth in 2017.
Consumers demand technology innovation
The survey indicates that borrowers want more online and/or mobile access to information and the status of requests to improve the loan process, according to nearly half (47 percent) of respondents. It is not a surprise then that 64 percent of respondents believe adapting new technologies to drive efficiencies would help lenders stay competitive while trying to increase margins in an increasingly commoditized industry.
TRID: A year later
This year has been a time of TRID adoption and implementation. TRID went into effect on Oct. 3, 2015, and lenders have had almost a year to understand how TRID would impact the loan process. The majority of survey respondents (58 percent) identified the top TRID-related challenge as dealing with process and workflow changes concerning when the loan estimate must be delivered (within three business days). Consolidation of existing documents into the two new disclosures (loan estimate and closing disclosure) was a concern for a small number of respondents (8 percent).
“While the mortgage industry is often adjusting to regulatory and compliance uncertainty, the issues around TRID have become clearer, enabling lenders to proactively manage workflow challenges and set strategies to better meet consumer needs through technology integration and innovation,” said Bryan Binder, chief executive officer of Lenders One.
Market pulse
When asked to characterize the housing market for 2017, a majority of respondents (64 percent) anticipate a modest to heavy sellers’ market:
►Heavy buyers’ market (nine percent)
►Modest buyers’ market (27 percent)
►Modest sellers’ market (43 percent)
►Heavy sellers’ market (21 percent)
The survey had 95 participants and was conducted at the Lenders One 2016 Summer Conference held in August. Respondents consisted of Lenders One members, national secondary providers and national program providers. All findings are available upon request by contacting Lenders One.
