A veteran Pennsylvania mortgage professional with nearly 20 years of experience explains why passion outlasts any rate cycle
Mortgage origination volumes are still under pressure and high rates are keeping potential homebuyers sidelined, sparking speculation over a potential further thinning-out of the loan originator field.
But LOs and brokers who are in it for the long haul should adopt a simple technique, according to Pennsylvania-based Innovative Mortgage Brokers originator Yury Shraybman: remind yourself why you got into the job in the first place.
“If somebody is in this industry just for the money, they should leave,” Shraybman told Mortgage Professional America. “This is probably not an industry for them. [It] has ups, it has downs.”
Shraybman knows what it looks like to walk away from the mortgage industry, because he did it once before. He first entered the business in the early 2000s, spending close to a decade originating loans before the 2008 financial crisis profoundly altered the landscape. When the market collapsed, he made the decision to leave.
A subsequent period in the corporate finance sector was, by any external measure, successful on a financial level. But Shraybman said he noticed that something was missing.
“In the corporate world I was making a lot of money, but I did not enjoy doing what I was doing,” he said. “The reason I came back [to the mortgage brokering profession] approximately seven years ago is that I missed this industry. I missed working with people, helping them become homeowners.”
His return has coincided with a dramatic spell for the mortgage market, spanning a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic as interest rates sank and a huge cooldown in recent years when those rates started climbing again.
What brokers need to focus on in a tougher market
Average 30-year fixed mortgage rates have arrowed above 7% this year on the back of rising bond yields, creating a complicated picture for hopeful buyers who want to purchase but are put off by higher borrowing costs.
In a slower purchase environment, Shraybman said consistency and resilience are key traits for brokers who want to continue pushing forward.
“Just keep building the network, providing top service for your clients and your referral partners,” he said. “That’s the only way to keep going.”
Continuing to cultivate that network and work with referral sources have been key considerations for Shraybman since his return to the industry, part of the reason he says he’s still carving out business even in an environment where the phone isn’t ringing as much as it used to during the pandemic.
Rates expected to stay sticky, but brokers urged to remain resilient
Interest rates aren’t expected to plunge anytime soon, although there was a sliver of good news this week with Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) showing average 30-year fixed rates slipped for the first time in seven weeks.
That benchmark rate is still high at 7.32%, but this week’s decline arrived as Treasury yields swooned and pushed mortgage costs lower.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, which is most popular among borrowers refinancing an existing loan, was also down. It fell to 6.68% compared with 6.71% last week, although it remains significantly higher than the same time last year (when it sat at 5.44%).
Buyers may be having second thoughts about entering the market amid a higher-rate environment, but Shraybman said he sees constant talk of rising rates as noise rather than a reason to debate remaining in the industry.
“This [profession] is my long-term goal,” he said. “I’m not going to get out of this just because the interest rates are high. In my case, business hasn’t slowed – but even if it did, I would still keep on pushing and trying to make it a success because I love doing it.”
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