For this week’s episode of the LodeStar Lending Leaders podcast, Jim had the pleasure of chatting with Bob Ventola, Branch Manager, and Tim Shultz, SVP of National Sales Administration, with Draper & Kramer Mortgage Corp. Both are industry veterans who’ve seen their share of “good” and “bad” mortgage markets. We were eager to pick their brains and glean some wisdom for cutting through the doom-and-gloom headlines of the 2022 and early 2023 market.

“Don’t Get Too High on the Highs”

Bob and Tim are big proponents of managing your expectations. “Don’t get too high on the highs, and don’t get too low on the lows,” they advise. Instead of wallowing when the market is bad, and instead of going out and buying a Benz when the market is good, consider studying graphs of historical rates.

What you’ll see is a lot of regular ups and downs. No surprise there. But the true value comes from asking the question: “What caused the high rate to plateau when it did and begin to trend back down?” Conversely, “What caused the low rate to ramp back up?” Often, you’ll notice the same factors at play in each iteration of the rate cycle.

When you have a knowledge of history, you can prepare for good and bad markets and manage your expectations. That way, you’re not as vulnerable to market volatility, and you can hang in there, even when it’s tough.

How are today’s borrowers different?

Bob and Tim found a game-changing pair of statistics recently. The first is that 80–90% of millennials will search for a mortgage on the internet. With new tools, borrowers have more access than ever to shopping for rates and learning about different options for their mortgage. BUT… the second statistic is that 70% of those borrowers will go with the mortgage recommended to them by a friend or relative. New tools are great, and borrowers should use them. But mortgage professionals are irreplaceable, insofar as they provide expertise and a foundation of trust. Surgeons aren’t out of business just because WebMD exists.

Thanks so much for tuning in to LodeStar Lending Leaders! To listen to this and other episodes, check out our YouTube channel. Please consider subscribing! It helps us out a lot. You can also find us on Anchor.