I write a lot about Rocket Mortgage.
They’re the number one lender in the country, and since they’re publicly traded, they disclose A LOT of information.
Rocket Rates 🚀 😳
The chart below shows Rocket’s total Consumer Direct production revenue in Basis Points over the last 8 quarters vs. the industry average (as collected by the MBA).
Total Production Revenue is basically the gross income derived from selling the loan on the secondary market plus origination fees (i.e. what a lender makes BEFORE expenses like marketing and LO commissions).
A few interesting stats:
- Rocket averaged 97 bps MORE in revenue per loan than the rest of the industry over this period.
- Since the beginning of the year, they’ve INCREASED Total Production Revenue each quarter, while the industry average has DECREASED each quarter.
You can draw a few conclusions from this:
- Rocket’s Consumer Direct rates/fees are higher than their competitors.
- Unlike the rest of the industry, Rocket is not slashing gross margins to get loans in the door in this challenging market.
- Patrick O'Brien, CEO of LenderLogix
From The Team's Bookmarks 📌
Here are a few resources our team put together that we found interesting or helpful over the last month. And, of course, we included a couple of fun links too.
- Jerome Powell Signals Fed Prepared to Slow Rate-Rise Pace in December
- Home Sales Set to Get Worse Before Rebounding in 2024
- Average IMB lost $624 per loan in Q3
- Renters Need to Work an Average of 63 Hours to Cover Rent
- Boosting Tech Adoption: Top Execs Share Their Best Tops
- ACUMA Webinar: Leveraging the Right Technology in a Down Market
- Podcast: Ron Bergum on Why Loan Officers are the Problem & the Solution
- Logan Mohtashami: Can we still avoid a recession?
- For the Swifties: Ticketmaster apologizes to Taylor Swift
- Holiday Cheer: The Most Popular Christmas Movies
- 19 Breakfast Sandwiches To Improve Your Morning
A Tale of Caution ⚠️
Be thankful we’re in an industry with some rules and regulations.
If you haven’t kept up with the latest news in crypto, FTX went bankrupt, losing billions of dollars of customer funds in the process. It’s a tale of caution showing the industry's downside that has even impacted stars like Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Steph Curry, and more.
- Scott Falbo, Chief Technology Officer
Marketing to Realtors 🏡
New feature alert! Those of you using QuickQual have asked for an easier way to invite Realtors to create an account. We've found a pretty solid way to provide you with exactly that.
Available later this month, you will be able to invite a Realtor to QuickQual with a click of a button right from the "Realtor Accounts" page in your dashboard navigation. Here's a sneak peek at what that button will look like:
When clicked, it'll prompt you to enter the Realtor's email address and show you a preview of the invitation email we've put together.
This has been a popular request over the last few months, so we're excited to get it into your hands. We will send out another announcement once it's live.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Let us hear it.
- Derrick Enderby, Director of Customer Success
Spotify Wrapped 🎵
Spotify has mastered the year-end look back, and it's officially here. Combined, our team listened to about 216,000 minutes of music this year. It helps get the innovative juices flowing!
More or less, Spotify Wrapped is accessible the first week of December each year. According to market analytics, Wrapped gives Spotify a big boost in new installs: Its mobile app downloads increased by 21% in the first week of December 2020 and has continued to show spikes year over year. TechCrunch noted that "Consumer interest in Wrapped isn’t just about the data itself but also the way that Spotify personalizes the data to its users and presents it in clever ways."
The takeaway for mortgage lenders: Users are more likely to adopt technology and remain loyal to your brand if you can truly customize their experience to them personally.
If your tech stack doesn't allow for hyper-customization, what changes are you planning on making next year to provide that high-touch digital experience?
Think about it while you listen to one of our favorite (and most played) albums of this year: Fragments by Bonobo
And in case you missed it, here's "A Mortgage Loan Officer's 2022 Wrapped; QuickQual Edition"
Social Media Post Ideas for Mortgage Professionals 📢
Loan officers should utilize social media as a selling tool. We're not the first ones to say it; we certainly will not be the last.
Mortgage lenders with a consistent (and compliant) social media strategy see significant success because they establish their product knowledge, define their brand, and cultivate meaningful conversations. However, many don't know where to start and wonder, "what do I even post?" Good question.
In our latest blog, Pat shared five social post ideas you have to check out.
Quote of the Month:
“Turkey lurkey doo and turkey lurkey dap.
I eat that turkey, and then I take a nap."
– Adam Sandler, Thanksgiving Song
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