Data and Analytics
Unlocking the power of mortgage data: Proven use cases from industry leaders
Discover three key mortgage data use cases to help you uncover valuable market insights and identify actionable opportunities.
We most certainly live in a data-driven age. There are myriad data points available to us and multiple ways to track them. In the mortgage industry, data - and the proper utilization of such - can make the difference between success and failure. Now more than ever, lenders and investors must look inward to identify what is working and what can be improved. The data points your business holds can help you understand, pivot, innovate, invest and optimize for growth. Accessing that data is now easier and more intuitive thanks to technology solutions that identify actionable insights, trends and market opportunities.
Another important consideration is that in today’s high-rate purchase market environment, volume and margins are constrained. As a result, lenders need to be more strategic about finding sources of growth and volume, and how to operate more efficiently. Leveraging a strategic, data-driven approach will help you identify and target valuable opportunities.
At ICE Experience 2023, industry leaders gathered to discuss how they have leveraged data-driven infrastructures within their organization to measure success, make improvements and meet goals. In this blog, we’ll share some of the key use cases they identified.
Use case one: Creating goals based on mortgage data
The challenges presented to Jake Rowoldt, Waterstone’s VP of Information Services, were how to properly use data to guide decision-making, and then implement ways to analyze that data and track against it. Waterstone deployed a dedicated business insights team to drive this initiative, and utilized Encompass Data Connect® and Insights™ by ICE Mortgage Technology® to obtain, formulate and analyze their data, and put it into digestible formats.
The beneficial results they experienced were three-fold. First, they were able to analyze refinance data to create key performance indicators (KPIs) that would help them set goals for the future. Next, they were able to create an effective underwriting staffing model, which ensured that Waterstone could efficiently handle loan volume at any given time and achieve an underwriting sweet spot. And finally, Waterstone created a proprietary tool that allowed loan officers to more efficiently communicate with borrowers. As part of this effort, Waterstone partnered with the Encompass Consumer Connect® team to gain tremendous insights on borrower trends in specific regions.
"The more data we get access to, the more powerful it is going to be. Putting together this data allows us to better enhance our sales support and push forward."
Jake Rowldt, VP of Information Services, Waterstone Mortgage
Use case two: Adjusting operations and processes using mortgage data
During the COVID period, Dignified Home Loans was challenged by sluggish loan turn times, which were often slower than competitors by 10 days or more. To help solve this problem, they looked to their data. As described by Alan Wong, Dignified’s SVP of Applications, Technologies & Analytics, the company leveraged ICE Mortgage Technology’s Insights solution to access datapoints related to industry standards and benchmarking.
As a result, they were able to benchmark their closing times against the industry standard to identify where they were coming up short. With this information, Dignified leadership was able to make operational changes that reduced underwriting time by assigning routine tasks to junior associates, thus saving more important tasks for experienced underwriters and processors. As a result, loan turn times accelerated and sales goals were met through consistent measurement. Dignified also used data to map and analyze regional competitor offerings. This helped them create their own offers, work directly with Realtors, and win business.
"Data empowers our sales people to go out there and show what we have to offer. It opens the door to talk to real estate agents and build relationships. It is a conversation opener that allows us to do more business."
Alan Wong, SVP of Applications, Technologies & Analytics, Dignified Home Loans, LLC
Use case three: Incorporating mortgage data for advanced analysis
As described by Ben Sizemore, Lakeview Loan Servicing’s CTO, the organization was challenged to leverage business intelligence to improve operational efficiencies and their customer experience, and to create a single view of information across all origination platforms. Utilizing Data Connect, and other technologies, the Lakeview team looked for ways to analyze, standardize and systematize disparate sources of information, and create a trusted data warehouse that could be used across the organization. Thanks to this centralized source of data governance, Lakeview was able to improve their portfolio and make proper business decisions. They were also able to identify bottlenecks and improve loans by making them more compliant, thus minimizing buy back risk.
"We do everything we can to protect our portfolio. Our use of data is how we maximize our portfolio, and we need to trust that the data going into that portfolio is absolutely rock solid. Having the data itself is good, but if it isn’t right, it’s going to be bad news."
Ben Sizemore, CTO, Lakeview Loan Servicing
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