Executive urges newer brokers to focus on honing the basics as they lock in despite a challenging environment
Mortgage industry newcomers who’ve decided to pave their way as mortgage brokers or loan originators aren’t exactly entering the market at an easy moment.
Since the days of rock-bottom interest rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, mortgage costs have surged – sending homebuyers scurrying to the sidelines and keeping many would-be sellers in their homes for longer because they don’t want to give up their current cheap rate.
Economic anxiety appears to be weighing against the market in the early months of 2026, while the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East at the end of February sent bond yields sharply higher and swiftly ended a brief drop in mortgage rates into the fives.
And the industry is ever-evolving, too, with the rise of artificial intelligence sparking new questions about the role of technology in the mortgage process and the potential for new and sophisticated methods of fraud.
Against that backdrop, how should newer brokers and LOs set out their stall for success in turbulent and unpredictable times?
For Andy Harris, president at Vantage Mortgage Brokers, that should begin with an education-based approach – and not simply prioritizing dollars and cents over real expertise.
“My first advice would be simple: focus on competence before sales,” he told Mortgage Professional America. “Learn the guidelines. Learn how underwriting works. Learn how to analyze income, assets, and risk. Learn how to structure loans properly.
“Too many people try to market themselves before they actually understand the product they’re selling.”
What new brokers need to get right
Hallmarks of a great mortgage professional, according to Harris: explaining loan structures clearly, comparing multiple options objectively, documenting why a recommendation is in the client’s best interest, and understanding the compliance framework they’re operating in.
He sees getting those right as the best way for a new broker to position themselves for success. “If you focus on becoming excellent technically, the business will follow,” he said.
The reputation of mortgage brokers has gradually recovered since the 2007-08 financial crisis, when they were – either rightly or wrongly – saddled with a fair chunk of the blame for that meltdown.
But there’s still plenty that needs to be done for brokers to elevate the profession even further and achieve the widespread competence that’s needed, Harris said.
He views establishing an operation that can easily work with dozens of wholesale lenders as a big step for brokers.
“The most important part is understanding federal and state regulations, including Dodd-Frank, around originator compensation, anti-steering – a major one – and never listening to a lender when setting policies and procedures,” he said.
“Lenders will do all they can to manipulate brokers if they allow them to, and dozens can perform very well if you partner with the best and most ethical teams.”
Hopes fading of a resurgent 2026 mortgage market
Newer brokers and LOs, meanwhile, are unlikely to see the market heat up to the levels witnessed during the pandemic anytime soon.
A jump in the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 6.41%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest weekly survey, coincided with another drop in mortgage applications as homebuying sentiment remained muted.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index dropped at the beginning of March as the Iran war broke out, while homebuilder sentiment improved slightly – but remained low – according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
Some housing and mortgage professionals, though, believe the market is still poised for a decent spring as buyers shake off the uncertainty caused by the war and push ahead with their purchasing plans.
Real estate agent Maria Kouropenos told Mortgage Professional America she sees a “not explosive, but healthy” next few months in store for the national market and said some of the recent slump was also due to the snowstorms that pummeled parts of the country in January and February.
“Buyers are still here, just more thoughtful,” she said. “When the right opportunity appears, they act. I think spring will hold steady.”
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