Hey, I’ve got news for you: 2023 is half over. Sometimes reality bites, and vendors and lenders can’t sit there, wringing their hands, waiting for things to get better on their own. Are lenders suddenly going to make huge margins on lots of volume in the second half? Are LOs who were doing 2-3 loans a month in the first half suddenly going to do 4-6? Are vendor reps suddenly going to double their clients? Are rates going to plummet? Is the number of houses for sale going to skyrocket? Banks, credit unions, and depositories are certainly doing something. An analysis of call reports shows that mortgage banking income at banks and thrifts increased by 36 percent on a sequential basis. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo individually more than doubled their MB income from the fourth quarter to the first. Others, like Truist and PNC followed, as Inside Mortgage Finance points out. That said, to the surprise of no one, mortgage-banking income at banks and thrifts was down 38 percent
The United States has about 336 million people. Did you know that 1/3 of them live within a 500-mile radius of Nashville? This is a cool site for anyone putting together a sales presentation for a real estate agent or a borrower. Speaking of geography, Wyoming has 23 counties, not 58 as the Commentary mentioned yesterday, further proof that this is, and always will be, produced by human hands! (Thank you to everyone who corrected me on that.) While we’re on selling, from a sales perspective, some LOs advocate adding value by subtracting complexity for clients. They are asking themselves, “How do I add value? How am I any different?” They are looking at their sales pitch, comparing bringing up pain (minimizing pain through minimizing paperwork) versus bringing up pleasure (“You’ll save time by working with me.”) And most are doing what they say they’re going to do: If you tell a potential client you’re going to call in two days, ca