Mortgage technology has come a long way in the last five years. From receiving daily rate sheets from investors, it was not uncommon for mortgage lenders in the early to mid-2000s to receive their daily rate sheets from investor partners via fax or maybe even by emailing an excel spreadsheet to their partners. A “cutting-edge technology” investor partner would be posting rates on their website to provide that true mortgage shopping experience.

Mortgage pricing engines (PPEs) would fall under the FinTech sector which is expected to have a total combined market value of $305 billion by 2025. The value of a mortgage pricing engine can vary based on the size and needs of the mortgage lender. There are pricing engine options that are built to support smaller brokers and pricing engine options for larger more complex mortgage lenders. Nate Levan of National Mortgage Professional wrote this about the new mortgage technology landscape “Furthermore, as lender profit margins shrink in the current environment, we expect there to be added focus from lenders on finding ways to create differentiation and operational efficiency, which is where these new technology companies are focusing their efforts.” The bottom line is that there are pricing engine options available no matter the lender's size or needs. Implementing a pricing engine into your technology stack will save you time when quoting accurate pricing from multiple investor sources. 

BankingBridge, a top mortgage lead conversion SaaS, goes in-depth into what mortgage product pricing engines (PPEs) are and helps you in choosing the best option for your mortgage business.

Figuring out mortgage prices and getting accurate real-time rates (here’s where a Mortgage calculator comes into the picture) could be an uphill task for potential borrowers and this has paved the way for mortgage product pricing engines. Setting the right tone and establishing your company’s usefulness to the borrower becomes easier with a PPE in place.

While many mortgage lenders are continuing to evolve with technology, modern-day PPEs can help your mortgage company catch up and provide a modern way to shop for a home loan.

Let’s get down to the basics. What exactly is a PPE and more importantly how does it add value to your business?

BankingBridge is here with the answers to help guide you through this process. We will be covering what value addition a PPE provides to your company, the much-needed features in a PPE, and a bonus comparison of top PPEs in the mortgage industry today.

What is a Product Pricing Engine?

Imagine software that calculates and provides you with superfast and accurate pricing, that’s a PPE for you. A PPE makes your loan officer’s life easier and piques the borrower’s interest through a quick and seamless mortgage quote.

Let’s take a look at the essential features of a mortgage product pricing engine in the section below. 

Why are PPEs beneficial?

Every borrower aims to obtain authentic information about their mortgage pricing loan scenarios that are based on accurate data. A PPE helps you get a move on the process by calculating those prices and also provides a comprehensive rate comparison between multiple lenders thereby giving your borrowers the big picture of their scenario.

It’s entirely up to you to decide which lenders can appear in the pricing comparison since the software enables you to customize your preferences. PPEs also aid in compliance with the current regulations for lending businesses.

Borrowers can make well-informed decisions since mortgage PPEs lock in the rates and do not rush the borrowers. Mortgage automation software ensures the authenticity of numerous calculations loan officers have to make in the course of business and hence there is no risk of manual errors.

A PPE is your top tool to keep the borrowers engaged and educated thereby elevating your business.

Top Features 

Some beneficial features are considered a “must-have” for any PPE. We will cover each feature comprehensively, but here are the top features to look for in a PPE:

• Competitive price comparisons
• Option to lock-in rates
• Trend analysis and estimating worst-case scenarios
• Integration compatibility
• Hedging strategy

Competitive Price Comparisons

In any mortgage product pricing engine, the most critical feature is its ability to provide clear-cut, concurrent pricing. If there are specific lenders your company transacts with, you can even opt for displaying their prices exclusively. The PPE software will help find the most favorable loan options for you and accurate rate quotes for every borrower.

Option to Lock-In Rates

Your borrowers might need time to decide, it’s a huge decision after all. A PPE can lock in the rates anywhere between 30 to 60 days (entirely dependent on the software).

This also gives the borrowers some time to analyze and compare rates before their long-term commitment, which is key in today’s mortgage market.

Trend Analysis and Estimating Worst-Case Scenarios

Would you like to understand the historical trends and patterns involved or compare the worst-case scenario with the estimated loan situation? A PPE can help with all this so that the loan officer can provide in-depth analysis to the potential borrower. After all, the borrower is relying on the lender for education throughout the process.

Integration Compatibility

PPEs work with most mortgage software platforms and are compatible with LOS, POS, or CRM software. This is crucial when determining what PPE is right for your current technology stack.  

Best Mortgage Product Pricing Engines

Now that we have taken you through the essential features of a mortgage product pricing engine, you can make a calculated choice among the various options. Here are our top picks to evaluate for your company.

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Optimal Blue 

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With a stunning accuracy rate of 99.95%, Optimal Blue is considered one of the top PPEs in the industry. Multiple scenario analysis, worst-case situations, and historical averages, you name it they’ve got it. Optimal Blue boasts marvelous reviews from loan officers, lending companies, and borrowers alike.

Pricing: Custom pricing. Contact the vendor here.

Features:

• Smooth interface with precise display of information.
• Thorough automation of the workflow for process streamlining.
• An adaptable platform for companies in a growth stage.

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Mortech

Mortech, which is owned by Zillow Group, is a completely automated pricing tool that provides multiple loan scenarios for the borrower as well as the business to see and act upon. Mortech can easily be integrated with the majority of mortgage software.

Pricing: Custom pricing. Contact the vendor here.

Features:

Each pricing scenario is coupled with profit and margins.

• Aids in analyses with hundreds of investors’ rates on a single screen.
• SOC2 compliant.
• Data automatically is fed into your loan origination system due to integration with CRM and LOS.

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Lender Price

Lender Price deals with multiple types of loans and assists various types of companies with non-conventional customers. Your company can also develop a customer-facing website for them to see how the pricing engine works.

Pricing: Custom pricing. Contact the vendor here.

Features:

• Multiple pricing options - non-QM, specialty, conforming, and non-conforming loans.
• Integration with all the leading mortgage software and customization is possible through their PPE.
• Original digital real estate fliers with pricing tools can be created.

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Polly‍

To date, Polly continues to experience record growth and adoption across the mortgage landscape. The PPE boasts patent-pending technology and a cloud-native, high performance infrastructure that delivers near-infinite flexibility, configurability and scalability.

Pricing: Custom pricing. Contact the vendor to request pricing detail, here.

Features:

• Configure products, pricing, and eligibility on a multi-dimensional basis
• Logic management tools eliminate disjointed workflows and counter logic
• Dynamically manage ultra-granular margin strategies and revenue at the loan level
• Ingest, generate, and distribute rate sheets in minutes
• Flexible automation workflows deliver full control over lock desk functions/processes
• Configure custom parameters with zero vendor development required
• In-app testing with zero downtime
• 50+ feature and product releases per year
• 6 weeks average implementation and onboarding timeline

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Loansifter

Loansifter is owned by Optimal Blue and is a software solution aimed at small brokers, small teams, or a broker looking for a simple pricing engine solution. The user-centric interface allows brokers to easily access rates from more than 120 investors each day. If you are currently managing rates in a spreadsheet and want a lower-cost solution, Loansifter is the option for you. 

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Pricing: Starting at $79/mo visit the vendor for specific details.

Features:

• Access 120+ wholesale investors
• View different rates in one search
• Access current rates in real time
• 1M+ monthly searches
• Integrates to all leading LOS platforms 

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OpenClose

Much more than a PPE, OpenClose comes with a built-in PPE called DecisionAssist or you can purchase the PPE on a SaaS basis too. Great customer service is guaranteed with their experienced Loan officers.

Pricing: Custom pricing. Contact the vendor here.

Features:

• Custom pricing scenarios are based on the eligibility of the borrower.
• Up-to-date compliance with investor guidelines.
• Customers can also receive sample quotes using the option to make web pages.

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Encompass Product & Pricing Service

The PPE is directly integrated into their software and is available only for companies who already use their software. Loan officers can manage custom pricing and the tool has the facility to compare loan scenarios for potential borrowers.

Pricing: Custom pricing as part of their software package. Contact the vendor here.

Features:

• Included in the Encompass Digital Mortgage Solution.
• Lenders have the option to customize pricing for their portfolios.
• Loan officers can incorporate LO compensation into their price offerings.

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Earnix Price-It

Particularly aimed at banks to calculate mortgages, re-financing, and loan-release offers. Banks can customize the loan prices while drawing from accurate, simultaneous data. The product personalization feature of Earnix facilitates comprehensive rate comparison that best fits your borrower’s needs.

Pricing: Custom pricing. Contact the vendor here.

Features:

• Can be easily integrated with the vast majority of pre-existing mortgage software.
• Software is well equipped with predictive capabilities and its machine learning can adjust pricing predictions to suit the borrower and company’s business intent.
• The entire loan origination process is ensured to be fully compliant.

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Roundup

Being able to quickly and efficiently price out loan scenarios for your potential customers is a huge need in today’s mortgage market. As mortgage pricing is the first phase of the process, a PPE will benefit from that critical step and ensure customer engagement. And accurate, precise information is bound to add to the borrower’s delight thereby making them choose you for their needs and increasing your lead generation exponentially.

‍BankingBridge can help take your mortgage rate quoting to the next level through integrations with most of the product pricing engines (PPE). This enhances the experience you can provide to your potential borrowers, and increases your lead conversion. To learn more about how BankingBridge can help your company to display real-time mortgage rates, and increase lead conversions, contact us here.