MB Insider Trends: How to Make More Refis = More Purchases

Interested in seeing where the hot spots are in mortgage originations? Here are some interesting stats that we are seeing in the data right now.

MB Insider July 8th: 

Disclaimer: These are numbers that we are seeing in the MonitorBase platform and does not necessarily represent stats for the entire country. Although, this should give you a good idea of some interesting trends, and hopefully helps in your current origination efforts.

Hey everyone! This week we’ve seen some interesting changes over the last week that we can’t wait to share with you.

There has been increased activity in the 640-700 credit score range, over the past few months we’ve been seeing higher application rates in just the 700+ range. There are a lot of people in the lower credit score ranges that could really benefit from the current lower interest rates, but that haven’t been applying. We’re happy to see some improvement in that area knowing that more people are being served. 

We saw a significant increase in mortgage inquiries last week as well, about a 40% increase over the week before. In the first week of the month we usually see an increase because loan officers have closed out the applications from the previous month and can catch up on new applications. This was a bigger increase than usual for the first week of the month, which is great news. 

Along with these increased application rates, we’ve seen a 30% increase in new listings over the last week. Hopefully this is a sign of what’s to come over the next few months, this is a really great improvement for inventory. 

Now is the time to do some strategic planning for when the interest rates go up again and the refinance market starts to turn around. Last week we talked about how in this refinance market, first time buyers and referral partners can get neglected. You can create a pipeline for yourself by taking care of these first time buyers and partners who may not be getting the help they need from others. Pre-listing behavior. A listing is the holy grail right now, and if you can identify someone who is going to be listing their home, you can get them into the pre-qualification process and then introduce them to one of your referral partners. This will solidify that partnership, which can help you get more deals in the future and can also help you create more referral partner relationships. 

Another thing we have talked about is how about 50% of the time, we see an inquiry happen before a listing. A mortgage inquiry is a great indicator for an upcoming listing because most people don’t just list their house, they see what kind of mortgage they can get for a new house before listing their old one. Be sure not to be thinking of a refinance inquiry as just a refinance opportunity, it could also be an opportunity for a new listing. 

To see more mortgage trend updates like this, subscribe to the MonitorBase Blog at the top of the page or join our MonitorBase Insider Facebook Group.

Share this report with friends, colleges, or someone who might be interested. See you next week!