A new year brings new beginnings – and new ways to bolster your mortgage strategy so that your company can thrive, not just survive, in a downturn market and beyond.
One of the biggest opportunities lenders can address is operational leverage, or measuring the average productivity increase due to technology. In this Mortgage Power Up session, MarketWise Advisors CEO Jordan Brown talks with Blend Product Marketer Niko Pavlou to explore the operational and financial impacts of Blend’s Mortgage Suite — with a 37% increase in transaction time and a $636 cumulative return on investment (ROI).
They also explore how operational leverage is one of the biggest opportunities lenders can address, how to effectively measure the return on investment (ROI) of technology investments, and demonstrate the tangible actions lenders can take to maximize company performance — all while lowering origination costs.
Watch the webinar here on demand, and check out the highlights below to learn more about the results of MarketWise’s ROI study of Blend customers and how Blend’s Mortgage Suite technology, specifically, can be a long-term boon for lenders.
Using technology to get real results
MarketWise conducted a survey that included 146 responses across 97 companies with annual loan volumes exceeding 1000, and who had been live with Blend’s Mortgage Suite for over 12 months. In addition to reducing processing times by nine hours and shaving off seven days from the loan cycle, the MarketWise survey revealed an 8x ROI with an average financial impact of $636 per loan.
But one of the biggest impacts that the survey revealed was the increase in operational leverage that resulted from using Blend’s Mortgage Suite technology: meaning lenders were able to complete 34% more loans with the same staff. Brown explained that operational leverage isn’t entirely about keeping headcounts and costs down. The key lies in finding the right piece of technology that solves for very specific pain points, and can eventually lead to increases in efficiency, productivity, and higher pull-through.
Higher performance, lower costs
We’re coming off two years of unprecedented mortgage loan volumes. Changing interest rates and projected refinance volumes for 2023 are just some of the unknown variables influencing the market consensus this year. But although we’re no longer in a three or four trillion dollar mortgage market, Brown remains optimistic that success is attainable in any market — and there are several steps lenders can take to maximize performance and reduce costs now.
Lenders should be realistic about what is appropriate staffing for their bottom line, and align accordingly to break even or turn a profit. Lenders can also leverage their existing technology to its maximum potential to optimize operations, create efficiencies, and increase revenue.
Lastly, it’s important to take stock of your product set and identify niche products. Focusing on the products that you think will be most useful to borrowers gives you more leverage. For example, today’s market is producing a higher demand for home equity than in the past few years. This is a perfect opportunity to optimize a previously underused product and make it work to your advantage.
Working smarter by working together
Because we know our customers are investing in our technology, we’re investing heavily in them. Surveys like MarketWise Advisors’ ROI Study give us valuable insights that, in turn, help us better understand and better serve our customers.
We value product and process transparency at Blend, and we’re constantly focused on what we need to solve next — not just for our customers, but our industry at large. Which is why feedback is so important to our product roadmap. We want our customers to be able to win in any market conditions — and we believe that the right technological tools can make that happen.