Insights
Market reports, forecast data, industry insights, and more from iEmergent.
The mortgage lending landscape is more competitive than ever. Borrowers have more choices, higher interest rates and home prices deter buyers, and economic conditions are unpredictable. Yet many lenders still rely on reactive customer acquisition strategies, which require waiting for borrowers to come to them.
While reactive tactics play a role in attracting borrowers, especially over the long term, they aren’t enough to drive sustained growth now. Lenders who thrive in any market conditions are the ones that take a proactive approach—leveraging data, partnerships, and strategic outreach to identify and engage potential homebuyers before they start shopping around.
Reactive lending strategies depend on borrowers making the first move. Responding to inbound inquiries, relying on purchased leads, and waiting for referrals can bring in business, but they come with inefficiencies:
Relying solely on reactive tactics leaves lenders with little control over their destiny. Simply put, if you’re always waiting for borrowers to find you, you’re leaving opportunities on the table.
Proactive lenders and Mortgage Loan Officers (MLOs) take control of their pipelines by using data-driven strategies to locate and engage homebuyers earlier in their journey. This approach leads to:
Instead of relying on sporadic leads or costly advertising campaigns, proactive lenders establish trust and brand recognition within their communities—with ALL segments. This cultivates a pipeline of potential borrowers who are already familiar with the available products, increasing the likelihood of conversion and long-term success.
Proactive lenders don’t just sit back and wait—they actively position themselves in the communities with the most mortgage opportunity. Here’s a look at lending strategies and how they fall along the reactive-proactive spectrum. On which side of the scale are the strategies you rely on?
Click the image to see a full-sized version.
Some of the most effective strategies include:
Using data insights to pinpoint areas with growing homeownership potential gives lenders neighborhoods of focus based on growth, target segments, and partnerships.
Mortgage MarketSmart shows forecasted loans by census tract—overall or broken down by segment, loan type, and more. Here we see 2025 loan volume in Baltimore County, MD.
Connecting with places of worship, housing nonprofits, veterans’ organizations, and other trusted community figures puts lenders in front of borrowers early in the process.
In Mortgage MarketSmart, users can cross reference areas of opportunity with community centers of influence. Here we see housing and community nonprofits in Denver County, CO, over 2025 opportunity in low- to moderate-income (LMI) census tracts.
Partnering with agents, home improvement stores, and local merchants to be the answer to the question, “Do you know a trustworthy mortgage lender?”
Identify top real estate agents by market and segment in Mortgage MarketSmart. Here we see top agents in Phoenix, AZ, specifically in majority minority census tracts (MMCT).
Engaging new and existing homebuyers through seminars, sponsorships, and community events builds trust, establishes credibility, and educates future borrowers on your products.
See above for how Mortgage MarketSmart users can identify local community organizations that may be ideal partners for borrower education.
Identifying top-performing loan officers in target segments allows lenders to recruit proven MLOs with existing networks. And giving all MLOs data and tools about their neighborhoods can help them expand their reach and better serve borrowers.
Each of these strategies builds on the idea that mortgage lending is not just about transactions—it’s about relationships. The more embedded a lender becomes in a community, the more likely they are to be the first choice when prospective buyers begin their home search.
At iEmergent, we provide the data and tools lenders need to make proactive lending a reality. As you can see in the examples above, our tools help lenders:
The lenders who succeed in today’s market aren’t just waiting for borrowers to knock on their door. They’re actively positioning themselves in the right places, building relationships, and leveraging data to drive long-term growth.
Are you ready to shift from a reactive to a proactive lending strategy? Let’s talk about how iEmergent can help you take control of your lending pipeline.