His message to originators: 'The time is now'
Most of the recent headlines in the mortgage industry have revolved around higher rates. As the bond market continues to sell off, yields continue to rise.
Freddie Mac reported its 30-year rate at 7.03%, and some are even reporting rates closer to mid-7s this week.
Mortgage rates are well above where most forecasters expected them to be by this point in the year, causing frustration among brokers and buyers alike.
However, one of the top voices in the industry told brokers that the time to push forward is now, rather than waiting on better rate conditions.
Mat Ishbia (pictured top), CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, told the audience at the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) Fuse event that he made a decision a long time ago about how he was going to respond to whatever rates do next.
"I've decided that every single day rates go up or rates go down is a hell of a day. So I'm winning every day," Ishbia said. "Rates go up, you know what happens? That's more borrowers that are locked in loans today that I will refinance soon. Rates go down, I'm calling some of those borrowers. Either way, I'm good."
Deciding to win either way
Ishbia said a tougher rate environment carries its own silver lining for the brokers willing to stay in the business through it.
"When rates go up, other guys and gals that aren't as good as me are going to quit. That's less competition, right? They are not willing to stay in it," he said. "I'm going to decide I'm positive either way."
He said the challenge is to keep pushing forward even when everyone around a broker is hitting them with negativity.
"Your family is like, ‘Oh, I heard interest rates are high.’ And what are you supposed to be like? ‘Yeah, it's awesome,’" Ishbia said sarcastically. “Because they want to commiserate. Ninety percent of people, they like negative things. They like to talk about the bad because the bad is what's fun to talk about, because nobody wants to talk about the good, which is ridiculous. Be different. Think differently. Be positive all the time."
Desmond P. Smith, EVP and chief growth officer at UWM, told Mortgage Professional America that the rate environment itself was beside the point.
"When I first started in the early nineties, rates were in the high nines,” Smith said. “But most of these people have never experienced that. And guess what? The market kept going. The market will keep going. People will continue to buy houses. People need cash out. I think credit card debt is at the highest level. People need cash out to improve cash flow."
He said the market's direction has never been something originators could control in the first place.
"The world's going to keep turning no matter what," he said. "So the reality is it's going to turn with you, or it's going to turn with someone else."
‘The time is now’
Ishbia said the mortgage industry is hard, but he encouraged brokers to choose which hard they wanted to confront.
"It's hard to go to 20 real estate agents' shops. You know what else is hard? Not getting any business," he said. "Which one do you want? Choose your hard."
That same logic, according to Ishbia, applies to the current moment itself, difficult as it is.
"It is the best time to be in the mortgage business, because you know what? The best people are going to win, and everyone else is not going to," he said. "It's hard out there, right? Rates are not low."
He said originators waiting for conditions to improve before they act are making a mistake.
"The time is not now to sit there and complain about rates. Time is not now to think about things," he said. "Do not be someone that's waiting for rates to drop. Do not be someone that's waiting for the business to change, waiting for a new product. The time is now."
While everyone hoped 2026 would be a declining-rate year, that hasn’t been the reality. Still, Ishbia said brokers can win regardless of the rate environment.
"Everyone said rates are going to go down. I thought they were going to go down too, and what did they do? They went up," he said. "I don't control it. But I do control that I've decided that the time is now to go win."
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