If you spend enough time in airports, you start to notice that when things go wrong, it’s rarely because the pilots don’t know what they’re doing. More often, it’s because the system gets overwhelmed. Gates back up. Planes wait on the tarmac. Crews time out. Everyone’s working hard, but without coordination, even a routine travel day can unravel quickly. When the system works, you barely notice it. When it doesn’t, you feel it immediately.
That’s the lens Michael Grad and I use in this month’s InFocus article, “Prepare for Takeoff: AI and the Fight for Mortgage Lending Efficiency.” Mortgage lending today feels a lot like a busy airport. Leads come in from everywhere. Borrowers expect fast, clear responses. Loan officers juggle dozens of conversations across systems that don’t always stay in sync. The problem isn’t talent or effort — it’s coordination. AI isn’t about replacing loan officers any more than air traffic control replaces pilots. It’s emerging as the control layer lenders need to manage volume, improve consistency, and let people focus on the work that actually requires judgment and experience.
That same idea shows up clearly in Mike Seminari’s latest CX Tip, “Future-Proofing CX Before Volume Returns.” Mike makes an important point: customer experience doesn’t magically improve when volume comes back — it gets exposed. If communication, handoffs, and expectations aren’t solid today, they won’t hold up tomorrow. Lenders that invest now in tightening CX will be far better positioned when demand increases.
Thank you for joining us for the January Insights Report. Your success remains our top priority, and we are here to support you every step of the way. STRATMOR provides a wide range of advisory services to facilitate, optimize and address the challenges lenders are facing today, including strategy design and implementation, financial benchmarking and performance, process review and improvement, maximizing servicing assets, optimizing your customer experience initiatives to get more business, technology procurement and implementation, M&A and strategic options, and much more. STRATMOR’s advisory team is available now to discuss these services. Please contact us to learn more.
Mortgage lending today increasingly looks like a busy airport without sufficient air traffic control.
Leads arrive through multiple channels: calls, websites, emails, texts, and referrals. Borrowers expect immediate responses and clear direction. Loan officers juggle dozens of conversations at once while systems struggle to stay synchronized. Follow-up depends on availability. Status updates lag. Inconsistency and uncertainty creeps in, not because people are careless, but because the system relies too heavily on individual effort to manage volume.
This is where artificial intelligence is establishing a beachhead in mortgage lending.
Our question this month: What will separate CX winners from the pack in 2026, and what should lenders be doing now to stay ahead?
In this webinar, Coby Hakalir and Garth Graham will deliver key market insights, trends to watch for in 2026, bring powerful market data and set the stage for a broader discussion on the evolving housing services ecosystem.
Origination costs are at an all-time high. Given that sales costs will continue to be the largest component of retail origination costs, what can be done to manage this beast?
Understanding the key characteristics of the Expense Management Branch (EMB) and comparing the key performance metrics between it and the corporate branch model is essential to identifying which is best for your organization.
Secret shopping is the best way for lenders to remove the disconnection between perception and reality and pave the way for meaningful improvements in customer experience.
In STRATMOR’s secret shopping research, one phrase continually shows up in borrower feedback: “It felt too transactional.”
That’s the quiet killer of conversion, trust and long-term loyalty.
Lenders pour millions into marketing and technology, yet lose qualified borrowers because the experience feels mechanical and impersonal. LOS and CRM systems capture the what and how, such as credit scores, income, and milestones, but almost never capture the why.
That missing “Why” is exactly where trust breaks down. And right now, in a market where the cost to acquire each borrower has doubled or quadrupled from just a few years ago, ignoring their Why isn’t just poor service. It’s poor economics.
As 2026 inches closer, mortgage lenders and their technology partners are entering a season defined by both opportunity and pressure. Volume is poised to improve. Technology is advancing at a pace the industry has never experienced. And M&A conversations are shifting from crisis management to long-term strategy.
But like any farmer preparing for a new growing season, optimism alone won’t produce results. Success in 2026 will require deliberate cultivation.
The mortgage industry’s high-stakes game has entered a new round, and the table looks very different than it did just a year ago. The players are bigger, the bets are higher, and the odds are being reshaped by technology. Independent mortgage bankers (IMBs) now face critical decisions: double down on independence, form strategic alliances, or cash out through merger or acquisition. The question is no longer whether the game is changing, but how to play it.
Feel free to reach out with any questions or needs we might be able to help with.
