Rocket Companies is pushing back against accusations it is ignoring or is “bad for” its mortgage broker partners.
Such accusations have been flying — particularly on LinkedIn — after the mortgage lending giant this week closed its acquisition of online real estate brokerage Redfin. In conjunction with that announcement, Rocket and Redfin launched “Preferred Pricing,” which offers borrowers who use Redfin and Rocket Mortgage services a one-year reduced interest rate or reduction in their loan cost, up to $6,000.
That program is available only through Rocket’s retail channel, as is Rocket’s recently launched bridge loan product designed to allow existing homeowners to tap their home’s equity as a down payment on a new house, allowing them, effectively, to “buy now, sell later.”
“We’re building something that finally connects the full homebuying journey ... and brokers are part of that system from day one. Not bolted on. Not waiting in the wings. Built in.” —Katie Sweeney, EVP, Strategy and Broker Advocacy, Rocket Pro
“Read the fine print. Because when a company repeatedly says one thing and does another, it’s not a misunderstanding — it’s a strategy,” United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) Chief Client Officer Allen Beydoun posted on LinkedIn. “This is the fine print regarding Redfin powered by Rocket deal. Exactly what we said it would be, great business move for Rocket, bad for brokers.”
Regarding that fine print, Beydoun pointed to an explanation of Rocket Preferred Pricing that notes the offer is “valid on retail loans only and cannot be combined with any other discounts or promotional offers.”
Rocket Returns Fire
In response to that and other posts, Rocket Pro’s Katie Sweeney, executive vice president for strategy and broker advocacy, and Rocket Pro General Manager Dan Sogorka fired back their own salvos.
“When you’ve spent your career advocating for brokers, you learn to tune out the noise and focus on what’s real,” Sweeney wrote in a post yesterday on LinkedIn.
“We’re building something that finally connects the full homebuying journey — from search to close — and brokers are part of that system from day one. Not bolted on. Not waiting in the wings. Built in,” she continued. “The Redfin partnership isn’t a retail strategy. It’s a platform strategy. It’s about giving brokers access to millions of homebuyers at the exact moment those buyers are raising their hands. That’s the opportunity brokers have been asking for, and now it’s here.”
“Enough with the spin,” Sogorka posted. “Some of the noise out there is doing a disservice to the broker community rather than actually educating it.”
“Yes, Rocket Mortgage currently offers a 1-year rate incentive on retail loans only,” he continued. “It’s a limited, short-term promo, like many others in this industry. It does not apply to the broker channel. It doesn’t change the fact that brokers consistently deliver competitive options. And it certainly doesn’t define the long-term value brokers bring to the table.”
The Redfin acquisition, Sogorka argued, “is not some retail ‘land grab.’ This is a national-scale platform move that includes brokers by design. Because we know the truth: we can’t win without you.”
Sogorka also quoted Rocket Companies CEO Varun Krishna as saying, “What we’re doing is allowing our broker network to get access to a bigger ecosystem.”
