Optimize Your Mortgage Pull-Through Rate with the Right Mortgage CRM

A mortgage pull-through rate is the total number of funded loans divided by the total number of applications multiplied by 100. For example, if 100 potential borrowers complete applications and 70 of those loans fund, the result is a 70% pull-through rate. Conversely, this scenario results in a 30% fallout rate.

According to HousingWire, pull-through rates for purchases and refinances combined typically hover around the high 60s to low 70s. Purchase applications are less likely to fall out, so their rates are usually higher than refi rates.

How do low mortgage pull-through rates affect mortgage companies?

Consider the work (i.e., time and money) that goes into capturing a lead and getting them to apply. In addition to marketing expenditures to capture the prospect’s attention, there are other operational costs (both time and money) associated with providing a pre-approval.

Once an application is made and TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) compliance guidelines kick in, all hands will be on deck to complete a loan estimate within the requisite three days. Depending on how far in the process the borrower gets before jumping ship, lenders may waste hours of loan officer, processor and underwriter time. They may also have to cover costs for title searches, rate locks and more. If a borrower exits the loan process after application, there’s no way to recover those expenses.

When are borrowers likely to fall out?

Purchase applicants have stronger pull-through rates than refinance applicants, who are more likely to be in the market for a loan only to get the best interest rate. Purchase applicants referred by a real estate agent are even more likely to make it to funding, as they are already receiving support and education from a professional helping  to get the deal through to close.

Perhaps the most important factor, however, is how far along the applicant gets in the loan process. The more time and money they invest, the more likely they are to stick with the original lender. Getting applicants to the stage where they pay the appraisal fee helps prevent fallout.

What are some strategies for improving mortgage pull-through rates?

Providing stellar education and creating a personal connection between the loan officer and the applicant will lead to more successfully funded loans. Believe it or not, all of this – even the personal connection – can be achieved through marketing automation.

Pre-application education: An educated borrower is better equipped to make sound decisions that keep their application on track. Applicants who were likely to drop out due to credit score or cash-to-close troubles, for example, can learn what they need to do before they submit an application.

A strong mortgage CRM like Surefire will contain mortgage calculators, educational materials and automated prospect workflows to pre-qualify and prepare prospects — from credit-challenged to first-timers to trade-up and refi borrowers.

Pre-application communication is the perfect opportunity to kick off an omnichannel marketing strategy that delivers personalized messages over multiple channels and reaches prospective borrowers where they are.

In-process communication: Borrowers value transparency. If they understand what’s already happened with their loan application and what’s still to come, they will be less likely to jump ship. When a mortgage CRM is integrated with the mortgage bank’s loan origination system (LOS), milestones checked off in the LOS can trigger in-process messages to borrowers and deal team members, alerting all of the application’s updated status. 

Integrating a CRM with a point-of-sale system (POS) and product pricing engine (PPE) also gives lenders an easy way to leverage automation by offering relevant pricing, quotes and loan products via desktops and mobile devices.  

Post-close communication: Post-close communication is like an insurance policy against future fall-out. When loan officers employ an automated omnichannel marketing strategy to stay in touch with and further build relationships with their borrowers, those borrowers are more likely to return to them for their next home financing transaction.

They’ll also feel some loyalty to the loan officer and know the level of service to expect, so their applications will be more likely to go to funding. The loan officer can be more confident in the borrower’s ability to meet the application’s requirements, too.

Personal connection: While creating a personal connection through automated marketing seems counterintuitive, it is possible with the right mortgage CRM. Here are a few examples:

• Videos recorded and distributed within the system help the borrower get to know the loan officer on a more personal level.
• Personalized messages that feature the loan officer’s headshot, contact information and branding help keep you top-of-mind with past and prospective borrowers.
• The right communication delivered at just the right time (such as in-process communications) shows the borrower the loan officer is tracking their transaction.
• Communications sent at personal milestones, such as birthdays, on the birth or adoption of a child and at loan anniversaries, demonstrate the loan officer’s interest in the borrower as a person, not just a deal.

If you’d like to learn more about optimizing mortgage pull-through rates with the help of Surefire and the industry’s leading library of mortgage marketing content, please schedule a demo today.