One industry expert breaks down the keys to winning customers in the refinance market
A decline in customer satisfaction with mortgage servicers could open the door for mortgage brokers to recapture loan customers in the refinance market, according to one industry expert.
JD Power released its 2025 US Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study on Thursday, which showed a 10-point drop year-over-year in satisfaction. Servicers were rated 596 out of 1,000 points. The rating is also 131 points lower than how customers view mortgage originators.
Bruce Gehrke (pictured top), senior director of lending intelligence at JD Power, believes there could be an opportunity for mortgage brokers and loan originators to recapture customers from servicers based on this sentiment.
For brokers to recapture those customers in what has been a challenging market, Gehrke believes there are several factors that those surveyed listed as determining whether they would leave their current servicer.
And while the top reason makes sense, the number of respondents citing it as their primary reason is decreasing.
“The number one reason why people would switch is, of course, for a better deal,” Gehrke told Mortgage Professional America. “For lower rates or lower fees, a lower cost loan. But the percentage of respondents who rank that highest has dropped consistently over the last four years.”
Pricing more competitive
Gehrke notes that while more than half of respondents list better deals as the top reason, the decline is because more loan providers offer similar pricing.
“Now 56% of the study still says that's most important, which is reasonable,” Gehrke said. “But the thing that's changed is some of the other secondary reasons, when we ask if pricing is equal, and that's becoming more and more of a factor. Pricing is very important in choices, but it's not a differentiator.
“Pricing competition is very tight and close. You know, you're not going to find somebody necessarily who's significantly lower than somebody else. So, it doesn't really drive the choice between one lender and the other.”
Where customers start to see differentiation is in customer service, easy access to loan information, and flexible payment options.
“What we've seen when we ask about this is now 51% of why folks say they'd switch companies is for better customer service,” he said. “The other one that has grown dramatically, and it's still fairly small, at 36% but it's getting better mobile digital or internet access to their account so it’s easy to see what their balance is.”
Because home equity is at an all-time high, companies that can provide a customer with an estimate of how much equity is available at any given time are also scoring highly.
“We're seeing the growth of second mortgages, the home equity lines of credit for sources for credit,” Gehrke said. “They have a lower cost credit than credit cards or even personal loans. We're seeing that market grow. In an environment where finances are getting tight, understanding your equity position is growing as a reason why. Customers like accurate and easy information on this. If I can get that, that's enough to make a move to a new company.”
Educating borrowers on sold loans
Rocket Mortgage topped the survey with a score of 685. They were followed by Guild Mortgage (677), Regions Mortgage (656), Chase (650) and Bank of America (649). The average score in the study was 596. Navy Federal Credit Union, which was not eligible because it does not meet study award criteria, was rated 770.
Gehrke stated that one of the factors impacting scores was customers' limited understanding of how loans are sold on the secondary market, as well as the potential frustration of switching points of contact from origination to servicing. He believes that’s one of the reasons that lender servicers fared better in the survey.
“There's consistency across how they speak to customers, and there's consistency across from origination into servicing, and I think that really sets the tone and the foundation for a great experience, and they execute on it at each point,” Gehrke said. “As other lender servicers focus on this complete journey more, that level is going to bring the servicing experience up with it.
“Those brands at the bottom are dealing with customers who have originated with somebody else. So those customers went out and they chose a lender, and as soon as they close, they're being shipped off to another company they know nothing about. That is very impactful for their overall perception of experience, regardless of how operationally efficient.”
Tyler Hodgson, Executive Vice President of Growth at UMortgage, highlights that while affordability remains a nationwide challenge, uneven markets in major metropolitan areas mean buyers could face anything from seller concessions to multiple offers. https://t.co/RYbLHfiJTn
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) July 21, 2025
While he believes most mortgage brokers do a good job of explaining how loans are sold and serviced, he said originators can help servicers by making sure the process is clearly explained.
“For most originators, it's not thought of as a positive,” he said. “So, they're traditionally kind of shy away from really going into that discussion. Now, there are certain regulations around that. I don't think a lot of customers pay that much attention to it. And if the originator isn't focused on it, it's just going to go by the wayside, and they kind of wake up one day, and now they're writing a check to somebody else.
“I think brokers deal with that because it's part of their business and their business model. I think the challenge comes from smaller, mid-size, independent mortgage bankers who do a hybrid type of deal where sometimes they retain some servicing, sometimes they don't.”
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