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2025 mortgage market poised for growth

Experts discuss strategies to navigate a stabilizing mortgage market, highlighting trust-building, borrower education, and niche opportunities as key drivers for brokers looking to grow in 2025

Eddy Perez

EPM

Industry experts

Stephen Ballard

RCN Capital

Marc Tatarcuk

PCV Murcor

Tyler Bohn

Deephaven Mortgage

Eddy Perez, CMB, isfounder and CEO of EPM, based in Atlanta, Georgia, where he oversees compliance, and technology. As co-founder of EPM, recognized as part of the Inc. 5000, he has excelled within the mortgage industry, being named one of the nation’s top mortgage bankers, recognized in National Mortgage Professionals Magazine’s “40 Most Influential Mortgage Professionals under 40.”

EPM

Eddy Perez

Stephen Ballard, senior partnerships manager, specializes in building and maintaining customer relationships, and educating potential clients on RCN Capital’s diverse product line. Joining the company in the summer of 2017, Stephen’s mission is to expand RCN’s saturation in local and national markets. His previous experience has been in education and customer relations, which is used extensively at RCN Capital. Stephen graduated from the University of Connecticut Business School with a degree in finance.

RCN Capital

Stephen Ballard

Marc Tatarcuk is the vice president of national sales for PCV Murcor, a nationwide real estate valuations management company. Tatarcuk, with over 20 years in the real estate and financial services industries, is responsible for overseeing and guiding the company’s national sales efforts across all market verticals. He has a wealth of sales experience in the areas of appraisal management, mortgage finance, portfolio management, and technology. On the lending side of real estate, Tatarcuk has held leadership positions with Catholic Vantage Financial, First National Bank of America, and Hartland Financial. Tatarcuk is based out of Howell, Michigan near Detroit.

PCV Murcor

Marc Tatarcuk

Tyler Bohn is the managing director of national accounts with Deephaven Mortgage. He is a proven sales executive with demonstrated success in contributing to bottom-line impact through rapid revenue acceleration. He has more than a decade in leadership roles, leading several successful multi-channel and cross functional teams. His career background includes serving as senior vice president and national sales director at Solidifi as well as leadership roles at Incenter, First American Mortgage Solutions and Option One Mortgage. He holds a B.A. in communications from the University of California in San Diego.

Deephaven Mortgage

Tyler Bohn

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Vault Plus Mortgage and Finance Consultancy

David Merison

“The noise had been growing for a couple of years, but now there’s more of an acceptance. A lot of people are hopeful for 2025/26”

Eddy Perez,EPM

AS 2024 approaches its end, there’s no shortage of excitement in the US mortgage industry. After a period of turbulence, 2024 marked something of a cool-off year – however, brokers have still had to navigate economic fluctuations, changing borrower needs, and shifting strategies among clients and lenders. At a recent roundtable, four key experts shared their insights into the challenges, opportunities, and strategies shaping the mortgage landscape in 2024 and beyond. Their perspectives shed light on a stabilizing market, the role of education and technology, and the path to growth in 2025.

“[In 2021–22], you could make as many projections as you liked, and you’d be lucky if one out of five came true. Through 2024, we started to experience a calming”

Marc Tatarcuk, PCV Murcor

There is always room for the exceptional. If you are phenomenal at what you do, you’ll have no issue growing your share in the market”

Stephen BallarD, RCN Capital

As the market has steadied, brokers and lenders have adapted their strategies to meet new demands. Education, modernization, and specialization emerged as recurring themes during the discussion. Ballard emphasized how important it is to address fear and uncertainty in the market, particularly for those newer to the industry. In an attempt to address this, his firm developed an investor sentiment survey to gauge market confidence and provide data-driven insights. “Almost all of the people we’ve talked to who have been in the industry for a long time have seen this before,” he said.

“We still see inventory and affordability issues – however, there are many credit-worthy borrowers out there looking for alternative products, and there’s tremendous opportunity for growth”

Tyler BohN, Deephaven Mortgae

Looking ahead, the panelists shared their predictions for 2025 and outlined the opportunities they see for brokers and lenders. Ballard introduced the concept of a “trust recession,” a phenomenon he expects will dominate the next year. Many clients, he explained, remain deeply skeptical about the housing market and broader economy, drawing comparisons to the 2008 financial crisis. “Your clients do not trust anything that’s happening with real estate right now, so you have to show them why today’s market is not like 2008,” he said. Brokers who invest in transparency,

everyone up for failure.” By engaging early and developing strategies tailored to complex borrower needs, brokers can drive better outcomes for their clients. Perez anticipates that 2025 will bring increased transaction volume as homeowners tap into record-high equity levels. He stressed the importance of authenticity and intentionality in the way brokers engage with clients. “You have to show that you’re the expert, and that you understand the what, why, how, and who,” he said. To that end, his firm plans to triple its investment in content creation training, enabling brokers to build their expertise and communicate effectively with their target audiences. Ultimately, the road to growth is paved with education, trust, and proactive engagement. Brokers who take the time to understand their clients’ needs, embrace new technologies, and develop targeted strategies will be well-positioned to succeed in 2025 and beyond. As Ballard notes, “There is always room for the exceptional. If you are phenomenal at

The panelists largely agreed that 2024 has been a year of stabilization, following the turbulence of 2021 and 2022. Commenting on this difficult period, Marc Tatarcuk, vice president of national sales at PCV Murcor, noted, “You could make as many projections as you liked, and you’d be lucky if one out of five came true. Through 2024, we started to experience a calming and an adjustment period, and more conversations on what the future looks like.” Eddy Perez, founder and CEO at EPM described it as a “changing of the guard” year, where industry attrition opened the door for new talent to step into leadership roles. “The noise had been growing for a couple of years, but now there’s more of an acceptance,” Perez said. "The discussions around interest rates and low inventory have melted down to a level that’s acceptable to most, and a lot of people are hopeful for 2025/26.” Stephen Ballard, senior partnerships manager at RCN Capital, noted an interesting divide between homeowners and property investors: while homeowners have been hesitant to give up low fixed-rate mortgages, seasoned investors remain undeterred by higher rates.

education, and building trust with their clients will stand out in this challenging environment. Tatarcuk sees 2025 as a year of incremental but steady growth. With the market hitting its stride, he expects to see more borrowers seeking guidance on navigating an increasingly diverse range of loan products. His firm’s priority will be ensuring brokers have access to these solutions while helping them identify what makes the most sense for each client.

“Even at rates like seven percent, if there’s cash flow, then they’re still okay,” Ballard said. He highlighted how experienced investors, familiar with past cycles, are looking to leverage cash flow and avoid high prepayment penalties in anticipation of rate drops in the coming years. Tyler Bohn, managing director, national accounts at Deephaven echoed this optimism, noting that the real challenge isn’t a housing crash, but a transaction shortage. "Homeowners across the country are sitting on equity that they can use to continue to leverage their wealth," he said. “I agree that 2023 was the official ‘bottom,’ and now the turbulence has gone. We still see inventory and affordability issues – however, there are many credit-worthy borrowers out there looking for alternative products, and there’s tremendous opportunity for growth.” The consensus was clear: while inventory and affordability remain significant challenges, brokers and lenders who adapt to market conditions and focus on niche opportunities will be positioned for success.

“When rates go from high-twos and low-threes to six or seven percent, the people who purchase the low inventory tend to be investors. This means we haven’t seen too much of a drop. One of our main approaches has been to try to wrangle some of the fear, and that’s been an educational approach.” Tatarcuk pointed to modernization as a cornerstone of his firm’s approach. Significant investments in infrastructure and technology have positioned his company to better serve brokers and lenders, which has ensured smooth integration and a stronger overall experience. “Whenever the brokers or lenders need us, we need to be sure that we’re in a strong position to work with them and plug directly into their system,” he explained. These advancements, he added, have already started to pay off and will no doubt continue to do so into 2025 and beyond.

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Bohn is particularly confident in the self-employed borrower segment, which he estimates comprises half of all non-QM business. He also sees significant growth potential in the residential real estate investment market and the equity market. By proactively developing solutions for these segments, Bohn says that brokers can position themselves as indispensable partners to their clients.

RCN Capital is a national, direct, private lender that provides commercial loans for the purchase or refinance of non-owner-occupied single-family & multi-family properties. RCN specializes in ground-up construction financing, short-term bridge loans, fix & flip financing, and long-term rental financing for real estate investors. RCN lends to both new and experienced real estate professionals throughout the country.

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Licensed in all 50 states, plus D.C., PCV Murcor provides nationwide appraisal management and valuation advisory services for residential and commercial real estate. An industry leader with over 40 years of experience managing valuation needs for mortgage lenders and servicers, financial institutions, investors, federal agencies, and the GSEs. Our mission is to help clients and their customers make their real estate needs happen through accountability, connectivity, and performance. Our use of state-of-the-art AI technology ensures precision and efficiency in every aspect of our service. Experience innovation-powered precision and time-tested excellence with unparalleled service and cutting-edge products.

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Deephaven Mortgage is a pioneer and leader in non-QM since 2012. Their longevity and strength in the non-QM space has allowed a significant number of borrowers to achieve homeownership who otherwise would not have under traditional requirements. Deephaven offers a wide array of non-QM loan products that includes LLC business purpose lending, DSCR cash flow, Expanded-Prime, Equity Advantage Closed End Second, Non-QM HELOC, and Non-Prime solutions for borrowers. As experts and educators in the Non-QM sector, Deephaven offers extensive training to all of their mortgage partners. Discover the Deephaven Difference and increase your volume and referral base.

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Adapting strategies: education, technology, specialization

Published Dec 09, 2024

Challenges, opportunities, and industry stabilization

Based in Atlanta Georgia, EPM is a world-class global team of mortgage experts with diverse backgrounds who share a passion for leading EPM. Our team features an integrated range of knowledgeable people who guide us in fulfilling our commitments to our community and those who serve. EPM's management team has more than 50 years' experience in the mortgage industry, providing exceptional pricing without compromising follow through, and customer service for thousands of clients annually. The organization has 23 fundamentals that EPM promotes, with "4CORE" principles at the top.

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What are the key growth drivers for 2025?

Bohn emphasized the importance of both talent acquisition and product evolution. Over the past year, his team has expanded its expertise by bringing in new talent on both the customer-facing and underwriting sides. At the same time, his firm has focused on evolving its product set to meet the needs of brokers seeking alternative solutions. This dual focus has allowed the company to stay ahead of market demand while positioning brokers to better serve underserved borrowers, such as the self-employed. For Perez, the shift toward third-party origination (TPO) has been a game-changer. This strategic pivot, made in late 2023, has allowed his team to dedicate more resources to educating brokers and loan officers. “We’ve also been teaching them how to do content creation, because that’s a really important way to brand and grow yourself,” he said. Perez believes brokers are well-positioned to gain market share as originators increasingly look for ways to offload some of their workload. TPO provides a natural solution, empowering brokers to step into that gap while building their personal brands through strategic content creation.

He also stressed the importance of being proactive and not treating non-QM products as a last resort: “Too often, we’ll be approached with a deal that fell out three times, and we now have six days. That sets

what you do, you’ll have no issue growing your share in the market – even if it takes a lot of time and effort to do so.”

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