Marketing the First-Time Homebuyer

With volatile interest rates, increasing home prices, and a lack of inventory, first-time homebuyers face many challenges in today's housing market.  While the big banks have all but exited the retail mortgage lending space, the gaps left to service these would-be homebuyers are quickly being bridged by independent mortgage bankers all across the country. 

From a survey conducted by Experian of consumers who have purchased a home within the past year … or plan to purchase in the next year … only 59% felt financially prepared to do so. 41% of first-time buyers feel that derogatory information on their credit report may impact their ability to make a purchase. 55% of first-time buyers delayed a purchase hoping to improve their credit and get a better rate.

These are very important metrics to consider when crafting your marketing message. These people need to understand that there is a very good chance they can qualify to buy a home today. There is an even greater chance that home prices will be higher if they delay their transaction!

With some help from MonitorBase, John McGrath, Loan Originator and Branch Manager, has made significant gains picking up the ball these large depository institutions are dropping daily. He credits his mortgage lead generation success to a combination of MonitorBase ‘Home Buyer Alerts,’ and his 22 years of coaching first-time homebuyers through the process. ‘In 2016, I doubled my business with MonitorBase. It's proprietary technologies understand the first-time buyer. The vast number of big-bank or credit union applicants will eventually end up on the phone with a non-bank lender like me. These systems help me get in front of prospects. My phone rings every day of the week!’

It's important to understand the typical path of the first-time homebuyer. Seeking mortgage advice from their bank is a common occurrence. Part of the reason is due to the convenience factor. In the profitable years of mortgage lending, the big banks spent millions of dollars engineering their online mortgage offerings. These highly effective systems were designed to funnel consumers into every financial product they sell. When a consumer applies for a mortgage with their bank, they are simply choosing a highly engineered 'path of least resistance.'  But as efficient as these systems are at driving an online mortgage application, they are even more efficient at declining applicants that don’t meet their tighter credit requirements.

McGrath further notes, ‘There’s really no way they can compete with me. I can do deals the banks won’t touch, I know the business better. I listen better. And I talk with these folks, not at them! You just need to slow down and build rapport by demonstrating genuine interest in their hopes and dreams. A call-center loan officer at a bank is going to rattle off a dozen or so application questions …as fast as they can spit ‘em out … before they ask the most important questions.’

How does MonitorBase help mortgage professionals get in front of first-time homebuyers? It sends you daily alerts when consumers in your markets meet both your minimum credit standards AND are indicating mortgage-shopping behaviors. After we notify you that a consumer is ‘in the market,’ its systems produce … and distribute … a corporate compliance-approved, highly responsive offer.