How To Generate Mortgage Leads During This Rate Drop

It’s official. Mortgage rates have hit their lowest point in over a year. 

As a result, the people who’ve been waiting to buy or refinance are starting to explore their options. While many expect the Federal Reserve to slash the federal funds rate next month, further driving down rates, some potential homebuyers and refinancers are already coming out of the woodwork. They want to see what dropping rates mean for their specific borrowing scenarios.

As a mortgage lender, you can meet them on their search. If you’re ready with the information people are seeking, you set your lending operation up to warm leads and convert them to closed loans. 

Sound good? Here are a few ways to get ready to generate mortgage leads during this rate drop swing. 

With your website

You already have a powerful tool in your arsenal: your website. With it, you can help prospective borrowers see current rates, compare their options across loan products, and understand their own affordability scenarios. 

This sounds like a lot, but the right tools can help you deliver on all of it without added work for your team. Let’s look at a few examples:

Lead workflows

Right now, a lot of would-be borrowers want to understand how the rate drop impacts them specifically. That means you can give them what they want: a tailored rate quote. And in exchange, you can get something from them: their contact details.

To set up this neat swap of information, integrate a lead workflow on your site. This tool lets borrowers input information — like their zip code, desired home purchase price, and household income — in exchange for a customized quote. And at the last step (before the quote is provided), it asks for their contact info so your loan officers can help them further. 

It’s a win-win scenario, one that can help you generate leads as rates drop. 

Live rate tables

While some borrowers are far enough down the road that they’re willing to hand over their contact info, others are just starting their hunt for information. As a result, they’re turning to lenders’ websites to see what’s on offer.

Stay in the mix with your competitors by featuring current rates on your website. Don’t rely on a static table that your team has to update manually. If you do, as rates climb down day after day, you could fall behind. That could leave your lending operation looking like it’s more expensive than other options. 

Instead, choose a rate table that automatically syncs with your product pricing engine (PPE). This way, as you can offer lower rates, they become nearly instantaneously publicly available. 

These are just a couple of examples of ways you can leverage your website as a lead generation tool. We have more options — like mortgage calculators — that you can use to attract more potential borrowers and encourage them to engage with your loan officers.  

With email campaigns

Sometimes, borrowers will seek out rate information on their own. Other times, they need a little nudge. 

With email campaigns, you get a way to resurface leads that have gone cold. You can automate emails to your contact list (meaning no extra work for your team) that pings them as rates come down over the coming months. 

This way, you notify consumers about how the changing rate environment can benefit them. And at the same time, you position your lending institution as a helpful, informative resource, one that borrowers might want to work with further. 

With advertising partners

Ideally, borrowers will find your website, engage with the tools you have on it, and hand over their contact information. But how do you snag leads that aren’t necessarily looking at specific lenders?

To generate leads that are still in the early stages of researching their mortgage and refinance options, you need to show up where they’re looking. That means getting on major national websites like Bankrate, LendingTree, and Zillow. By publishing your rates on sites like these, you build brand awareness, establishing yourself as a known and trusted player in the mortgage lending game. 

Usually, the best way to get started with these types of advertising partners is to publish your rates in one of their rate tables. That way, if an interested borrower is looking at rate comparisons on, say, Bankrate, they have the opportunity to click your rate and move through your lead workflow. 

Our team can help you evaluate these different advertising platforms. We have experience with them so we can make it easier to determine which might best suit you based on your loan products and ad budget.  

All told, you have plenty of options to help your lending operation take advantage of dropping rates to generate more leads. As more homebuyers and refinance seekers come to the table, you can be set up to meet them there — and close their loan. To talk with our team about just how easy it can be to deploy these mortgage lead generation tools, book a demo with us today.