Internet Lead Quality

A January poll of loan officers indicated 75 percent were optimistic about 2006 volume, which they believed would be higher than the prior year, BNTouch Mortgage announced Thursday.

But a more recent survey by the Portland, Ore.-based company revealed more than 60 percent of originators have seen a slowdown — with over half of the respondents indicating they have not hired additional employees or that they have actually laid off people.

“I think we’re seeing the market contraction separating less experienced loan officers from the seasoned professionals who have been through this sort of thing before, and forcing those without a good adaptable marketing plan to suffer the consequences,” said BNTouch CEO Dan Itkis in the statement. “Loan originators have to be nimble enough in their marketing and execution efforts to adapt to the changing marketplace.”

Both the January survey and the survey announced yesterday included “around 75 participants each who actually filled out the entire survey,” BNTouch spokesman Mark Vukadinovich told MortgageDaily.com in an e-mail.

BNTouch, which says it helps loan originators manage sales, marketing and office automation activities, reported that more than 60 percent of the respondents were focusing marketing budgets on direct mail and referrals instead of online channels like Internet leads.

These findings starkly contrast findings from The Loan Page, which in March announced that its own survey of 50 mortgage lenders indicated spending on Internet leads would rise. In addition, research and consulting firm Borrell Associates last year reportedly forecast a shift in marketing budgets to online channels by 2009.

But BNTouch’s Vukadinovich said his company has “received a lot of complaints from our customers about the declining quality of Internet leads, and this is not surprising if you look at the advertising tactics these companies use to get leads.

“They advertise loan programs and rates that are simply unrealistic in today’s rising rate market,” he said.

RELATED:

Mortgage Lead Spending to Rise
Lead generation companies and lenders say spending for online leads, which perform better than those generated from traditional advertising according to a recent survey, will increase this year.

Sam Garcia worked in mortgage lending for twenty years prior to becoming publisher of MortgageDaily.com, MortgageChronicle.com, FraudBlogger.com and CloserBlog.com.

e-mail: mtgsam@aol.com