CRM and marketing automation platform heavily customized to support lender’s sales and marketing process 

SEAL BEACH, Calif. – OptifiNow, a provider of custom CRM platforms for mortgage lenders, announced today the successful deployment of a CRM solution for Sprout Mortgage’s wholesale and correspondent business channels. The deployment of the heavily customized OptifiNow instance met an extremely compressed schedule, allowing Sprout Mortgage to minimize disruption to its sales and marketing process during a period of rapid growth. 

"OptifiNow met our goals because they built a close relationship with our team and demonstrated a deep understanding of our business," said Joe Bartolotta, Marketing EVP at Sprout Mortgage.

In late 2020, Sprout Mortgage made the decision to select a new CRM platform. "We innovate very quickly at Sprout," said Bartolotta. "The CRM is an enabler to our sales and marketing strategy, so we needed a platform that could be significantly customized and a provider that could move at our speed.”

Sprout Mortgage selected OptifiNow because the company offered true customization.  OptifiNow was able to seamlessly replace Sprout’s previous CRM, including all existing integrations critical to operations. OptifiNow built a new module to support Sprout’s vital 'Loan Scenario Desk' operations, a key component of its service offering that is greatly valued by its clients. 

OptifiNow met Sprout’s 60-day implementation goal.  The complex project required multiple system integrations, UI customization, and massive migration of legacy data. "Our implementation and client services teams are used to challenging projects," said John McGee, CEO of OptifiNow. "Sprout required careful planning and a high level of effort from our team to meet an aggressive timeline. Key to our success was building a close relationship with Sprout's team. We worked with them as if they were co-workers instead of clients so the communication and collaboration was smooth and natural."

OptifiNow's implementation included integration with Sprout’s proprietary pricing engine, 24/7 client marketing portal, and an unusually comprehensive integration with Sprout’s LOS. The LOS integration required synchronization of third-party originator (TPO) company and user data, as well as associated loan production data. As a result, Sprout's wholesale and correspondent sales teams can view detailed loan information on individual loan files without having to access the LOS. Loan data was also used to drive an automated account classification process that identifies whether accounts are actively submitting loans or need additional attention from sales.

“Within a matter of weeks, our entire wholesale team was fully transitioned to OptifiNow, supporting almost a hundred account executives and multiple departments that rely on the platform to execute multiple marketing campaigns and detailed reporting,” said Bartolotta. “OptifiNow worked hard to understand our needs and have proven themselves to be a trusted service provider.”

About Sprout Mortgage

Sprout Mortgage is a leading nationwide lender whose innovative products, powerful technology, and precision underwriting provide tailored lending solutions for residential real estate investors, self-employed borrowers, and those with recent credit events. Sprout provides modern lending solutions to help a broad range of consumers and the brokers and lenders who serve them.  For more information, visit https://www.sproutwholesale.com / https://www.sproutcorrespondent.com or call 844-664-6100.

About OptifiNow

The OptifiNow platform combines CRM, Intelligent Sales Automation, Configurable Sales Processes, Sales Enablement, Reporting & Analytics and a robust API with integrations into a variety of complementary technologies. Many Lenders use different sales platforms for their Retail, Reverse, and Wholesale products lines, forcing them to maintain, train and support multiple technologies within their companies. OptifiNow offers a single platform that Lenders can offer to their Loan Officers, Account Executives & Call Center Agents, while Management can build their benchmark sales processes and gain critical insight on business performance to maximize revenues. More information can be found at www.optifinow.com/industries/mortgage.

MCLEAN, Va. (Sept. 20, 2021) Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released an analysis showing that appraisal values are more likely to fall below the contracted sale price of a home in census tracts with a higher share of Black and Latino households, resulting in an appraisal gap. The extent of that gap increases as the percentage of Black and Latino individuals in the census tract increases. The research is based on 12 million appraisals for purchase transactions submitted to Freddie Mac between 2015 and 2020 through the Uniform Collateral Data Portal.

“An appraisal falling below the contracted sale price may allow a buyer to renegotiate with a seller, but it could also mean families might miss out on the full wealth-building benefits of homeownership or may be unable to get the financing needed to achieve the American Dream in the first place. This is a persistent problem that disproportionately impacts hundreds of thousands of Black and Latino applicants,” said Michael Bradley, senior vice president of modeling, econometrics, data science and analytics in Freddie Mac's Single-Family division. “Our research marks the beginning of a comprehensive effort to better understand the key drivers contributing to the appraisal gap. Our goal is to develop solutions to this persistent problem, including appraisal best practices, uniform standards for automated valuation models, enhanced consumer disclosures, improved value processes, and revised fair lending exam procedures and risk assessments.” 

Research Highlights:

• The appraisal gaps identified are not being driven by only a small fraction of appraisers -- a large portion of appraisers who completed appraisals in both minority and non-minority areas generated statistically significant gaps. 
• Properties in Black and Latino tracts receive appraisal values lower than the contract price more often than those in White tracts -- 12.5% of the properties in Black tracts receive appraisal values lower than the contract price compared to 7.4% for those in White tracts, leading to a gap of 5.2%. 
• As the concentration of Black or Latino individuals in a census tract increases, the appraisal gap increases. For example, as the population of Latino individuals increase, the appraisal gap for properties in Latino tracts increases from 7.7% to 9.4%.
• Differences in comparable sale distances, comparable reconciliation, variances in comparable sale prices and possible systematic overpayment for properties by minorities can explain only a modest amount of the observed appraisal gaps for the minority tracts.

Analysis was conducted on appraisals for the purchase of a single family one-unit home. Numerous robustness checks from different perspectives were conducted as part of the analysis, including by appraisal type, occupancy type, property condition, housing trend indicated in the appraisal report and by urbanization level. In addition, analysis was conducted on the top 30 Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The patterns observed based on the aggregate national data mostly persist; thus, the appraisal gaps seem pervasive.

“Equity in housing is a critical issue and one Freddie Mac takes very seriously,” said Pamela Perry, single-family vice president of equitable housing at Freddie Mac. “We're uniquely positioned to investigate potential gaps and provide data-driven research like this to advance solutions that promote equity across the valuation process. In addition, we are committed to engaging with the Appraisal Institute to review the analysis in depth so that we can work together in identifying causes and solutions.”

Freddie Mac will continue to explore opportunities to leverage various data collection methods, examine data driven analytics and develop supporting tools to create new approaches across the valuation spectrum. The company is also testing whether alternatives to traditional appraisals offer a more objective analysis of property value.

The company is a core partner in the Appraisal Institute’s Appraiser Diversity Initiative, which commits to building a more diverse next generation of appraisers and is a member of Project REACh’s appraisal working group. The Comptroller of the Currency’s Project REACh initiative is dedicated to financial inclusion through enhanced access to capital. 

Freddie Mac makes home possible for millions of families and individuals by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Since our creation by Congress in 1970, we’ve made housing more accessible and affordable for homebuyers and renters in communities nationwide. We are building a better housing finance system for homebuyers, renters, lenders, investors and taxpayers. Learn more at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMacand Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.

Nearly half of the top 15 metros with highest in-migration activity were in Florida while California’s coastal metros had some of the highest out-migration activity

IRVINE, Calif., August 4, 2021—CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today reveals its analysis of homebuyer migration trends in 2020. According to its 2020’s Hottest Cities for Homebuyers report, more homebuyers moved to affordable, coastal metro areas in Florida like Lakeland and Tampa, as many moved away from large coastal areas like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The report noted that a mix of events during last year’s pandemic that included flexible work policies, low federal interest rates and increased need for financial savings led to a mass migration away from crowded, expensive metro areas. “The pandemic created a perfect recipe for consistently employed Americans,” said Archana Pradhan, CoreLogic’s principal economist. “If it had been any other mix of events, for example, if low housing inventory was coupled with job inflexibility, we wouldn’t have had such a large group of homebuying consumers feeling empowered to make bold moves in their living situations.”

Top Metros for 2020 Residential Migration

*For the full Top 15 Metros list, download the report.

 The metros that topped the list of highest in-migration activity had similar draws for homebuyers. The report notes that these top metros offer more affordability because of lower costs-per-square-foot, lower property taxes, and no state income taxes. Additionally, warmer, sunnier climates with strong outdoor lifestyle amenities were common in the top 15 metros for in-migration.

Residential Migration Insights

The busiest months for relocation were between April 2020 and December 2020, according to the report. Home loan applications for purchases rose 11% in 2020 compared to 2019. An April 2021 CoreLogic consumer homebuyer study showed an increase in confidence in purchasing power, as well. Ninety percent of U.S. homeowners and renters surveyed said they were somewhat or extremely likely to qualify for a mortgage. Bank loans (38%) and savings (81%) are the primary sources respondents noted they would use to purchase a home. A strong 84% of consumers noted they had been able to save more income to purchase a home due to the pandemic and stay-at-home orders, with nearly half saving 11% or more of their income.

Agent Technology Insights

The report notes that technology played a major role in 2020 homebuying activity. Easy access to virtual meeting spaces, 3D and premium imagery and online customer experiences contributed to the willingness of homebuyers to move to farther away ZIP codes and even across state lines. Scott Little, Executive, Real Estate Solutions at CoreLogic, says agent adoption of its digital marketing tools and online homebuying services rose sharply in 2020. “Agents have benefited from CoreLogic’s integrated digital platforms and marketing services that enable faster, more intuitive ways for their clients to find and sell their dream homes,” Little said. With CoreLogic, agents can provide their clients with everything they need to know about the properties, communities, schools, and local service professionals in areas that were miles away, making big moves across longer distances easier.

“More than half of the homes we sold were to buyers who’d never physically set foot on the property,” said Deneka Waddell, REALTOR^®, Holmes Realty Group. “We’ve seen a steady increase in adoption of digital tools over the years, but 2020 really poured fuel on the fire. If you aren’t marketing listings using the latest technology, there’s no way you can compete.”

Residential migration hasn’t slowed, and CoreLogic’s economists and real estate professionals expect to see this activity continue in 2021. To learn more about these residential migration trends, download the full 2020’s Hottest Cities for Homebuyers report here.