Rocky Foroutan, CEO and founder of LenderHomePage, was awarded 2022’s Thought Leader by PROGRESS in Lending in recognition of his bold and visionary leadership that continues to advance the mortgage industry.

PROGRESS in Lending issued this honor to executives that demonstrated fearlessness in undertaking new initiatives and embracing creativity, stating, “we need thought leaders that are not afraid to step forward and blaze a new trail. We need creativity. We need bold new ideas.”

Rocky’s passion for innovation is rooted in the idea of “frictionless integration” throughout the entire mortgage ecosystem –from consumer engagement to underwriting to document recognition to APIs.

“I believe more standards for integration and quality control should be set for the industry as a whole, and vendors are to adhere to those so things can go smoother. Innovation is alive in mortgage today.”

Read more on the PROGRESS in Lending website and this year’s full honorees list.

LenderHomePage named MPA’s Top Mortgage Employer of 2022, marking a consecutive win in this honored recognition. 

Mortgage employers face new challenges as headlines about inflation and company downsizing loom in the industry. Providing reassurance and leading a workforce during this trying time isn’t easy. However, the employees of these honored companies voted that they feel abundantly supported by their employer.

“Helping our clients win is foundational to our business model, but it’s equally important that our LenderHomePage team feel like winners too. Creating a culture that fosters pride, enthusiasm, innovation, and recognizes hardworking people has been pivotal to our success and that of our clients,” comments LenderHomePage CEO Rocky Foroutan.

 “We’re known for continuously evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of our clients, the market, consumers, and technology. That can only be accomplished by hiring the best talent to service our clients and fostering opportunities for employees to do their best work. I’m proud of our team, and they know I’m committed to seeing them thrive.”

To be considered for this prestigious award, the organization must have at least an 80% satisfaction rating and meet the required amount of employee responses based on the company’s overall size. The anonymous survey asked employees to rate satisfaction on key factors such as compensation, career development, work environment, and culture.

Overall, 22 companies were awarded 2022 Top Mortgage Employer by Mortgage Professionals of America. See the full list on MPAMagizne.com

The US housing market had an epic 2021, with an estimated 6 million homes purchased last year. However, benefitting from these sales depended on whether one was the buyer or the seller.

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, home prices increased by nearly 20%. And, in some hot markets, homeowners saw double those profits. Homes were flying off the market soon after they were listed. Even homes with significant damage (such as flooding or fire) had offers well over their asking price. As you can imagine, sellers saw some awesome gains.

But this wasn’t the case for homebuyers. 

While mortgage rates were at record lows for most of the year, finding a home was still challenging. Inventory reached an all-time low, and competition was fierce, forcing prospective buyers out of the market without a home to call their own. 

No doubt, last year’s housing market was one to remember. Here’s what to expect in 2022.

2022 Housing Market Outlook

Record low mortgage rates are over.

While last year began with the lowest rates on record, they didn’t last long. By spring, they reached the year’s peak of 3.18%. Rates have fluctuated since, but we can expect interest rates to increase in 2022.

Also, the Federal Reserve has hinted that the pandemic monetary policy will end to help curb inflation –ultimately pushing interest rates upward.

While the revised policy won’t financially benefit those looking to purchase a home within the next few months, it’s still a good idea to encourage them to do so. Experts predict rates will hover around the low 3% range through the first quarter of 2022 but will likely increase by up to half a percentage point as we near the end of the first quarter and enter the second. 

Chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, Lawrence Yun, expects the 30-year fixed to inch up to 3.7% by the end of 2022. While notably higher than pandemic rates, this higher one will still be lower than the 2020 rate, around 4%.

Lower-priced and median-priced home buyers will feel this the most as increased rates coupled with inflation will strain their already tight budget. 

Inventory will remain a challenge.

Inventory will remain tight even with properties becoming available in the spring 2022 homebuying season. Realtor.com predicts property availability to increase only by about 0.3% in 2022 –encouraging some extreme buying tactics in some areas of the country. Offers that include buying the seller’s next home or bidding $100k over the asking price have been seen in particularly aggressive markets. 

This brings us to our next prediction.

Home prices continue rising.

Home prices went up in nearly every part of the country last year, up about 13% –or 19% for new constructions. While we won’t see these double-digit gains this year, prices will continue the rising trend in 2022, though at a slightly more moderate pace.

As for the National Association of Realtors, they estimate that this increase will be by 5.7%. They also expect the housing market and broader economy to normalize somewhat in 2022 as the Feds try to tame inflation.

First-time buyers will continue to struggle.

Few available homes, skyrocketing prices, and competing with all-cash offers pushed many first-time buyers out of the market last year. Despite the “excess savings” that many Americans accumulated in 2020-21, it seems like it’s still not enough. “People don’t feel like they are participating in what they consider to be American life through homeownership,” said Yun. “All their work to build up savings can feel less meaningful in the face of rising prices.”

Furthermore, mortgage types favored by new homebuyers, like FHA and VA loans, were often declined in favor of all-cash deals or conventional loans.

Despite the seemingly grey cast over the market, many homebuyers remain optimistic, aiming to make their homebuying goals happen come spring 2022. 

We’re recapping 2021 and the remarkable shifts that made for an excellent year for the mortgage industry and 50% growth for LenderHomePage!

As the year draws to a close, we’re seeing mortgage rates inch away from the record–lows of 2020 and early 2021. However, when we look at them from a historical perspective, rates are still ultra-low. Three years ago, December’s 30–year rate averaged at 4.75%, and December 2019 averaged around 3.75%. 

According to Freddie Mac, there was also a 33% increase in refinances when comparing the first half of 2020 to the first half of 2021 – amounting to an astounding $1.6 trillion in first-lien refinance originations. This also translated to borrowers saving an average of $2,800 a year. 

Applause all around!

For LenderHomePage, 2021 was a pivotal year of product improvement, integrations, and company growth.

Check out all the advancements that we made and that our clients benefitted from:

Early 2021 marked the deadline for the much anticipated and compulsory URLA Mismo 3.4 compliance. Although the industry was warned of the impending change, many originators were slow to transition and faced significant disruption to their business. Fortunately, our Loanzify POS was well prepared ahead of time, and those who rushed to comply were able to do so swiftly when they implemented our software. 

April 2021, we launched v.4 of Loanzify Mortgage Mobile App. The mobile app fully integrates with Loanzify POS, simplifying and reimagining the digital mortgage acquisition and process. It provides a simple yet intelligent consumer-facing UX with engagement tools plus powerful loan management for Loan Originators.

June 2021, we announced all-new “Personal Brand” mortgage website templates. This all-in-one website solution highlights the loan officer’s brand and supports their career growth and longevity in the industry. 

July 2021 brought a new partnership between Loanzify POS and Insellerate, delivering lead management, sales enablement, engagement, and data intelligence to help maximize the loan officer’s productivity and enhance the borrower’s digital mortgage experience.

Late summer 2021, we simultaneously released our Spanish language digital 1003 and CreditConnect, our self-pay credit pull for Loanzify POS. These breakthrough features help mortgage professionals to serve the diverse real estate market better, exponentially expand revenue opportunities and minimize the costs associated with creditworthiness analysis. 

In September 2021, we announced integration between Loanzify POS and Integra LOS, helping to facilitate the mortgage operation from origination to closing seamlessly. 

That same month, we also shared the new partnership with LeadMailbox, aiding mortgage companies to streamline and enhance their lead management process.

LenderHomePage also made waves in the industry by being featured in industry-leading news outlets, expanding its leadership team, and winning several industry awards. 

CEO Rocky Foroutan was featured in California Business Journal and BankingCIO Outlook Magazine and was awarded 2021’s Lending Luminary Award and MPA’s Housing Industry Icon in Mortgage Technology –as voted by industry peers.

LenderHomePage was also honored with MPA Magazine’s “Top Mortgage Employers 2021” award and “2021’s Top Lending Management Solution Provider Award” from BankingCIO Magazine.

Rounding out a year of big wins was bolstering our leadership team. In 2021, we welcomed Brandon Salisbury as the new Director of Sales & Marketing and Brian Dugan as the newly appointed Director of Customer Success. We also had the strategic transition of Bryan Skitt to Chief Creative Officer, where he oversaw the launch of our new Creative On Demand service.