McCollum referred to the process of starting and finishing a loan as “completing the loop.” And she feels that the longer borrowers are stuck in the loop, the more frustrating it is for both them and brokers.
“If you start a loan and you don’t end it, you don’t complete the process, it doesn’t make the loop,” she said. “When a client comes to you and they want to refi and they can’t, because there’s nothing out there that will complete the loop for them, what does that do if it’s held over for so long?”
There is hope that rates may decline, especially in the wake of the 90-day reduction in tariffs between China and the United States. While rates may trend up initially, the hope is the market may settle down, and borrowing costs could eventually fall.
Inability to finish loans causing burnout
McCollum hopes to see rates tick lower over the rest of the year. The alternative is a continued pressure on the market, and more people stuck in the loop.
“What will happen if we don’t somehow relieve the pressure?” she said. “With the tariffs and everything, what is going to happen in the mortgage industry? When we can’t complete this loop, if the consumer can’t complete the loop that comes from inquiring and then completing the loan, what does that do to the rest of their budget and their lives?”