The last two years have seen an explosion in the use of technology in the mortgage industry, fueled by both an increased demand in mortgages to support a hot housing market, and the necessity to quickly adopt virtual technology due to Covid related lockdowns.

As lockdowns are lifted, these digital trends are here to stay, making for more efficient financial institutions and a better customer experience. As we look to the second half of 2022 and beyond, these are the top digital trends shaping the mortgage industry.

Big Data and Analytics Inform Decision Making

Mortgage lenders have become much more data centric, often combining artificial intelligence, allowing for a much more sophisticated underwriting process. Lenders can now better understand customer needs, their financial behavior and even their ability to repay their loans.

Lenders now have the ability to not just look at and analyze data from the application, but also publicly available information such as social media and online newspaper articles. The end result is a much more efficient decision making process from the lender and an overall better experience for the customer.

Third Party Institutions Streamline the Process

         Many lenders are now partnering with third party software developers to streamline their processes in everything from marketing, underwriting, workflow management and loan servicing. Everyone is familiar with DocuSign, but there are many other similar SaaS companies working behind the scenes to speed up and streamline the mortgage process as well. These third parties can perform tasks such as income, employment and asset verification, title insurance and property appraisal management, compliance and loan closing processes. These third parties cut costs, reduce errors and provide better customer service as well.

Companies are Bundling Multiple Products

Data and software are allowing lenders to move into different businesses and vice versa. We are quickly getting to the point where homebuyers will have a one stop shop for all of their needs including home search, mortgage, warranty and inspection, appraisals, title and escrow services, homeowner’s insurance providers and even movers and stagers in some cases.

Today’s lenders are imagining a world where a home buyer will have one point of contact to guide them through their entire process from searching for their next home, to moving in and beyond, and already available technology is quickly making that a reality.

As we head further into the 21st century, look for these trends to continue. Big data continues to increase the efficiency of accuracy of the decision making processes, and while privacy concerns will be a huge issue going forward that will need to be addressed and resolved, we can be certain that this is one trend that is here to stay. Technology is streamlining multiple aspects of the lending business allowing opportunities for third party companies to enter the field, as well as new technology solutions are allowing traditional lenders to enter into new markets as well.