TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
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34 | TH E M R EP O RT FEATURE S uccess, especially in mortgage lending, is cultivated by challenge. These challenges make us stron- ger leaders and overall, a better industry. Today, mortgage leaders face the primary challenge of an increasingly diverse homebuyer market. In fact, earlier last year the Pew Research Center announced 10 demographic trends shaping the U.S. and the world. At the top of the list was: "Americans are more racially and ethnically diverse than in the past, and the U.S. is projected to be even more diverse in the coming decades." Not only has the landscape changed, but the buyer has changed, forcing the industry to seek better ways to communicate and work with borrowers who are vastly different than before. Unlike in the past, today's consumer needs to relate and connect with the person they're working with, especially for such a big, life-event purchase. To overcome this challenge, and cultivate a successful orga- nization—drive innovation, improve decision-making and bet- ter serve customers—mortgage leaders must embrace diversity, and make it a focus within their organization to better relate to today's borrowers. They must create a more inclusive work- place through recruiting efforts and do so with a more holistic approach by looking beyond the standards of age, gender, and ethnicity. Lenders now have the unique opportunity to be the leaders in successfully expanding homeownership opportuni- ties to everyone. 3 Ways to Connect With Diverse Buyers As the mortgage industry gets acquainted with the changing needs of homebuyers, here are ideas for mortgage leaders to succeed in catering to a diverse population. By Margie Hennessey