James Kleimann on Rocket, Zillow and building houses on federal land
Nov 20, 2024
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In this engaging conversation, James Kleimann, Managing Editor at HousingWire, unpacks the strategies of major players like Rocket Mortgage and Zillow in today's market. He discusses how Rocket is adapting to rising mortgage rates and leveraging technology while smaller lenders struggle. The talk also ventures into Zillow’s innovative Flex Program for real estate agents and their growing mortgage business. Additionally, they tackle the controversial idea of building homes on federal land, highlighting its complexities and challenges in the quest for affordable housing.
Rocket Mortgage is focusing on acquiring servicing and leveraging AI to improve productivity while navigating a challenging market landscape.
Zillow is transitioning from lead generation to its Zillow Flex program, potentially reshaping competition among mortgage originators and agents.
Deep dives
Rocket Mortgage's Strategic Shift
Rocket Mortgage is adapting its strategy by focusing on acquiring servicing rather than selling it, which marks a significant change from previous years. The company is leveraging advanced technology, including AI, to enhance productivity and scale operations without increasing fixed costs, which positions them favorably within the mortgage industry. CEO Varun Krishna highlighted that despite reducing staff by 7%, their productivity has improved, allowing them to handle substantial origination volumes. This strategic approach enables Rocket to maintain a strong cash position and capitalize on opportunities that other competitors may not be able to pursue, especially smaller independent mortgage banks (IMBs) facing liquidity challenges.
Trends in Mortgage Lender Profitability
In the third quarter, the typical mortgage lender saw a profit of $701 per loan, reflecting a slight increase from $693 in the previous quarter. However, profitability is not evenly distributed, as only 71% of surveyed companies reported profits, down from 78% in the second quarter, indicating that many lenders still face significant challenges. A decrease in total production revenue suggests that while some lenders are improving, the overall landscape remains tough, especially with rising costs like credit reports anticipated in the coming year. The capacity for lenders to achieve profitability will heavily rely on gaining more production volume, as the current interest rate climate appears unfavorable for future growth.
Zillow's Evolving Mortgage Strategy
Zillow is beginning to achieve scale in its mortgage operations, with annualizing about $3.2 billion in purchase loans, a notable increase from past performance. The company is shifting its strategy from merely generating leads to implementing the Zillow Flex program, which allows successful realtors to receive high-quality leads without upfront costs. This approach may present challenges for mortgage originators as they could lose business to agents leveraging Zillow's new system, especially if they are more productive. While Zillow's plans still face hurdles, the increasing evidence of their commitment to the mortgage sector warrants closer examination by industry stakeholders.
On today’s episode, Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler talks with Managing Editor James Kleimann about how Rocket and Zillow are playing to win in this market, lender profits in Q3 and whether we can realistically build houses on federal land.
The HousingWire Daily podcast examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each morning, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsrooms that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted and produced by the HW Media team.