5 Top Mortgage Services Trends You Need to Know About
The mortgage services industry isn't necessarily known for rapid change, but the companies involved must always be prepared for market shifts. That’s why MCS monitors mortgage services trends and helps our clients understand what to expect.
Key members of the MCS team—Chad Mosley, President of Mortgage Services; Tracy Hager, Chief Relationship Officer of Mortgage Services; and Jason Myers, Vice President of Business Development—recently attended several industry conferences where they discussed the latest trends with clients and peers. Based on their conversations, they’ve compiled this list of the latest mortgage services trends.
Trend #1: Demand for reverse mortgages is expected to rise, and servicers need to be prepared.
Geared toward seniors who need to tap into their home equity, reverse mortgages are expected to increase over the next few years as the population rapidly ages. Mortgage services partners must be ready to meet the demand. The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is the only reverse mortgage insured by the federal government, and at the 2024 NRMLA Annual Meeting, Julia R. Gordon, HUD Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner, emphasized the agency will continue to support and make loans and funds available.
Trend #2: Property registration is a topic of high interest among servicers.
Property Registrations can create headaches and risk for servicers, with minor fines that can evolve into major penalties or even liens that could prevent a servicer from selling a property. And because registration requirements change frequently, servicers must constantly monitor properties to ensure compliance. While managing the portfolios for many of the country’s largest servicers and government agencies, MCS excels at Property Registrations and can help reduce the hassle and risk associated to ensure your properties are always in compliance.
Related Article: Training Asset Preservation Coordinators For Excellence At MCS
Trend #3: Servicers are finding creative ways to mitigate risk.
Because of the specific timelines that must be hit to get a property into conveyance condition (and avoid holding costs associated with every additional day), servicers aim to call the property ICC early to convey as quickly as possible. But as the potential for foreclosures is expected to increase in 2025, servicers are getting more creative in their efforts to mitigate their related risk, including working with disposition groups and taking advantage of the CWCOT program and second-chance sales.
Trend #4: Vendors continue to face a challenging headwind of high costs.
From inflation to materials and gas, inspection and property preservation vendors across the industry continue to deal with cost issues. MCS’s unique hybrid service delivery model enables us to increase efficiencies through our self-performing network that puts boots-on-the-ground employees in key markets and a national network of more than 30,000 service partners so that no matter where your property is located, we’ve got you covered.
Trend #5: Concern around homeowners insurance coverage and related defaults is growing.
Insurance costs are rising and concerns around these costs—as well as the ability to secure coverage in disaster-prone areas—are growing in tandem. And as these costs increase, so does the risk for potential defaults. As a result, some homeowners are finding that their standard line carrier is increasing at such a rate that they’re asking their servicer how much the lender-placed policy is to determine if it’s more economical for them.
Related concerns also continue around global warming and the intensity of natural disasters that continue to impact the housing market. This has led to an increased interest in options like lender-placed insurance.
MCS experts can help with disaster planning by putting a focus on preventive measures ahead of storms and reviewing suggested maintenance items like roofing and trimming trees to help mitigate some of the loss on the back end. Additionally, MCS can ensure your property is promptly inspected after a storm or other natural disaster. Reviewing and learning from actions taken in previous storms is also key to staying ahead of storms as much as possible.
MCS, your property preservation partner
MCS keeps an eye toward industry shifts and mortgage services trends as we partner with our clients to help solve their challenges. Contact Jason Myers to learn more about partnering with us.
