MBN wrote a story last Tuesday that had a positive spin on broker market share, which has been dropping in the last 24 months.

The article states that brokers have offset losses in non-prime market share (which occurred during the credit crisis) with gains in the all-important prime market.

And indeed they did…to some degree.

Unfortunately, CAAMP data still shows that over the last two years (spring 2009 to spring 2011), broker share has fallen from 46% of new mortgages to 27%. (A “new mortgage” is a purchase or a refinance on a property where the borrower had no mortgage previously.) Overall market share, including renewals, is down to 23%.

MBN’s story also overlooks the fact that subprime volumes have bounced back quite a bit, yet brokers still retain roughly the same share they did pre-crisis (within a margin of error).

As always, we as brokers need to examine industry data objectively and be careful about dropping our guard. The trend in overall market share is what matters, specifically over the last 12- to 24-months.

More importantly, we need to monitor our own individual volume trends, and continually ask ourselves: “Why am I the best source for a customer to get their mortgage?”

The answer can’t be general and limited to “great rates, fast service, and good advice.” Customers expect that stuff by default. There has to be something extra.

If we can’t clearly and quickly articulate our unique value in a few sentences, odds are, we have nothing compelling to offer—relative to our competitors.

Rob McLister, CMT

Last modified: April 26, 2017