By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A total of 1,250 team members at Rocket Companies dove headfirst into the topic of leveraging generative AI during their most recent HackWeek.
More than 250 experiments were tackled as these team members explored how technology can streamline the homeownership journey. They ranged from finding solutions for when buyers first start browsing home listings to creating a system that presents payment assistance options to homeowners if they experience hardships.
CEO Varun Krishna said in a post on LinkedIn that harnessing the capabilities of GenAI is a major goal for the company and having a week of dedicated time to focus solely on breakthrough innovations was “incredibly valuable.”
“It is incredible how many great ideas can come from…
Rocket Mortgage has launched an AI-driven technology platform geared towards streamlining the homebuying process.
Rocket Logic processes insights from proprietary data and call transcripts to speed up the lending process for buyers.
Buyers upload documents to a secure portal. Rocket Logic then scans and identifies the files, extracts the necessary information, and instantly processes the documents.
The company says Rocket Logic can automatically identify about 70% of more than 1.5 million documents received monthly, saving lenders 5,000 hours of work in February 2024 alone.
Automation also reduced the number of times team members had to interact with a loan by nearly 25% YOY, decreasing turn times by 25% from August 2022 to February 2024.
“Rocket Logic is transforming the homebuying…
Tim Birkmeier, Rocket Mortgage president, is retiring from the company and the industry altogether.
After nearly three decades with Rocket, Birkmeier announced his leaving in a LinkedIn post.
“As I move on to the next chapter in my life, I hope to have proven to those at RKT what can be accomplished when you are willing to sacrifice for the greater good, consciously make professional improvements, and be consistent in your actions to get great results,” he wrote.
Birkmeier thanked Dan Gilbert, Bill Emerson, and Jay Farner, saying they allowed him to have a strong leadership voice in the company.
“I will always have a deep respect for our unique and good company culture that has been formed through the…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Female mortgage professionals are breaking barriers and making strides. As Women’s History Month is celebrated this March, The Mortgage Note asked leaders in the industry and related fields to share their advice with others.
Here’s what they said:
Be kind.
“Always be kind. This is a small pond. You never know who you will work with or for,” said Erica Giorgiantonio, senior director of field services at SingleSource Property Solutions in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
Have confidence.
Julia Curran, senior director of product design at SitusAMC in New York City, said, “Don’t be afraid to speak up and assert yourself in meetings and negotiations. Confidence and assertiveness are key qualities for success in our field.”
Gaining that confidence can…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The CEO of Rocket Companies says they will achieve scaled growth and profitability through their AI-fueled homeownership strategy.
Varun Krishna spoke during an earnings call Thursday after leaders at Rocket reported that their total net revenue for 2023 was $3.8 billion. In comparison, total net revenue was reported at $5.8 billion for 2022.
Krishna started his comments by saying they delivered strong fourth-quarter and full-year results despite market challenges as the industry faced persistent strains in affordability and inventory.
He pointed out that their purchase market share grew by 14% and their refinance market share grew by 10%.
Krishna said by continuing to leverage artificial intelligence, they will transform an industry that is ripe for innovation.
“With…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
This Valentine’s Day, if you are ready to get off the sidelines and into the housing market, you are likely not alone in your quest to find a place you love.
Potential buyers are coming out of the woodwork and touring homes, according to Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index, which measures requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents. And although that hasn’t translated into home sales yet, they expect this increase in tours to convert into an improvement in pending sales over the next few months.
Dana Anderson, a data journalist at Redfin, explained that more buyers are touring homes now because mortgage rates are holding steady at below 7% and some of these people…
Tech-minded buyers can tour homes in virtual reality on the Rocket Homes app, now available on Apple Vision Pro.
The app features a home search page and map of nearby listings. The listings fill the user’s entire field of vision and give a realistic sense of the location and layout of the home, including a “Look Around” option that lets them see the neighborhood and exterior.
Listings that include 3D tours allow potential buyers to tour inside as well, seeing each room in detail.
“At Rocket Homes, we know there are millions of people who are waiting for the right moment to buy a home. We also know that there are many ways to find and fall in love with…
Rocket Companies has appointed an AI-oriented independent director to its Board of Directors, according to a press release.
The new addition, Alex Rampell, is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz who focuses on fintech investments.
Described as a “serial entrepreneur,” he co-founded companies like Affirm, a leader in “buy-now-pay-later,” and TrialPay, a transactional advertising and payments company that was acquired by Visa in 2015.
Rampell now promotes the responsible use of AI, which he says will bring about a new era of transformation and disruption in the financial services space.
“When I heard [CEO Varun Krishna] speak about the AI tools Rocket is creating, and the massive amount of data at their fingertips, I was simply blown away,” said Rampell.…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A hotline that will give brokers the ability to make changes to approval letters at any time was announced by leaders at Rocket Pro TPO this week, and it is powered by artificial intelligence.
Executive Vice President Mike Fawaz unveiled the new technology during an Ignite: Live! session on Monday afternoon. He demonstrated that to use the new AI system, all brokers have to do is make a call to provide the loan number, client name, and financing request.
If approved, the system will update the appropriate documents.
“This is a win for you. This is a win for us to be able to deliver to the broker community something that you can use that gives you…
It’s time to shake off 2023 and move into 2024 with a fresh perspective. Editor Kimberley Haas spoke with industry leaders who have tips for finding success in the new year and insights into the latest technology.
If you would like to participate in future episodes, please email us at [email protected].
Read articles featuring the guests:
Overcoming Objections And Winning Business With Ron Vaimberg
Embracing Technology: One-On-One With Rocket Homes President Sam Vida
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