A recent survey of builders, developers, remodelers, and subcontractors by TD Bank found that U.S. builders value their partnerships with loan officers and rely on them to help close sales.
The findings reveal that strong relationships with mortgage loan officers (MLO) are key to successful home sales. Most builders recommend only a few trustworthy lenders to their buyers, so they need to feel confident that the lender they’re recommending won’t jeopardize their existing client relationship, the survey found. When financing a new project, over half (62%) of building industry professionals recommend two to four lenders to their buyers, and nearly one-third (30%) use a primary MLO.
Builders also reported looking to loan officers for advice about the financing process. In fact, more than a third (33%) of those surveyed said guidance with the finance process is a quality they value the most when working with a MLO. Builders also rely on an MLOs ability to move fast – almost half (49%) of those surveyed value quick turnaround and response time from their lender.
The majority (75%) of those surveyed expect residential construction volume to increase over the next two years. Builders also expect that a majority of new construction interest will come from move-up buyers (50%). In addition, almost a third of builders indicated the need for construction-to-permanent loans in the next year.
