Amid the traditionally busy spring homebuying season, industry professionals are looking for new paths to profitability in a tight purchase market. Rising interest rates, a shortage in housing supply and geopolitical turmoil have combined to create a uniquely challenging period for mortgage bankers and financial institutions. As these hurdles to homebuying collide with more Millennials entering the housing market, a focus on efficient automation and custom solutions could be the key to success in 2022.
Meeting the needs of a new generation of homebuyers while managing the ebbs and flows of a volatile housing market is a major endeavor for any mortgage lender. So, what should lenders be doing to thrive in the face of a post-pandemic housing market rife with new hurdles?
Interpreting the wants and needs of Millennials
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2022 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report, Millennials now make up 43% of homebuyers in the US. That’s an increase from 37% the year prior, signaling an important shift in the makeup of the housing market. These younger homeowning hopefuls often have different priorities than the generations before them, and many mortgage lenders are looking for ways to serve the unique wants and needs of this growing demographic.
With a generation as technologically inclined as Millennials, more lenders are understanding the importance that convenience and speed will play well into the future of the housing market. In addition, the post-pandemic real estate market has taken a turn towards contact-free digital solutions that allow for transactions that take place fully remotely.
Even as the U.S. recovers from the pandemic and routines normalize, the preference for digital solutions shows no signs of reverting to pre-pandemic times. This could be especially true as Millennial homebuyers continue to account for more of the home-buying market in the years to come.
Emphasizing speed and digitization
There’s no denying that the pandemic changed how we work and conduct business. The sudden shift to an online marketplace resulted in a world where consumers aren’t just used to digital solutions–they demand them–and the market for mortgages is no different. Consumers young and old now expect a digital experience that can be initiated, and completed, fully online.
A digital-first borrowing experience provides consumers with a level of convenience not available in the pre-pandemic mortgage landscape. However, it’s not just the convenience of remote mortgages that have hooked consumers. Along with the demand for digitization has come a need for speed, especially in today’s purchase market.
With borrowers preferring online loan applications that are quick to complete, fast turn times and even faster closings, financial institutions and mortgage lenders are having the inefficiencies in their business models highlighted and the need to prioritize modern technology is becoming strikingly obvious. This consumer desire for speed and convenience has underscored the importance of an end-to-end LOS for many mortgage professionals.
How Calyx Path can help
With the challenges presented by a tight purchase market forcing mortgage professionals to look toward new and improved business solutions and tech stacks, Calyx understands the importance of employing an LOS that allows lenders to focus on their bottom lines. And that’s exactly what Calyx’s Path LOS is created to do.
Path is an enterprise-level, cloud-based LOS uniquely designed to mitigate risk while keeping loans compliant and shortening overall turnaround times. Developed for financial institutions and mortgage bankers, Path boasts more than 99.95% system uptime and allows multiple people to work on one loan simultaneously, increasing overall efficiency.
With an emphasis on accuracy and speed, Path can generate pre-qualifications in an average of ten minutes, significantly less than the industry standard of 15-45 minutes. Moreover, the ability to tailor rules and workflows means Path molds to meet the needs of every customer’s unique organization. Between bespoke workflow solutions and complete automation, Path allows loans to move quicker and closings to happen sooner.
“AI has taken the mortgage industry by storm. By using Path to its fullest extent, originators can reduce cycle times, enhance borrower engagement and lessen administrative tasks,” said Michele Parson, Calyx Software Senior Marketing Manager. “With Path’s fully configurable workflow, the mortgage process becomes customized to how the lender and their shop want to work. By assigning roles within the workflow, the mortgage process can essentially become an assembly line that increases productivity and communication, ultimately improving the customer experience.”
In addition to customizable features, Path’s built-in POS, Zip, offers a single communication tool for borrowers through the entire loan process. With a personalized LO page and a complete consumer portal module, Zip gathers basic borrow information and documents, has eSign capability and provides regular status updates. More than half of online mortgage applications are abandoned before completion, at a conversion rate of 76%, Zip keeps borrowers satisfied while increasing productivity and sales.
Because Zip is organic to Path, lenders have an extra layer of protection and don’t need to worry about storing their data with a third-party provider. Additionally, Path’s built-in compliance provides automated alerts, audit trails, free history tracking, rule engine capabilities and integrations with industry-leading vendors so mortgage professionals can lend confidently.
Whether your focus in 2022 is capturing more leads, cutting down on bottlenecks or increasing overall efficiency and speed, Path’s features can help you succeed in today’s changing purchase market. To learn more about the advantages of Path, visit calyxsoftware.com.
