AI is driving mortgage consolidation. Here’s how brokers can thrive
The distinction matters because AI will not affect both models equally, Schieken said. High-volume brokers who have already reduced per-borrower contact time to near zero are the most exposed, because their model begins to look more like a transaction platform than a relationship business.
“There are individual brokers doing $500 million in volume a year, where their total time per borrower that they spend intentionally for the system to work is three minutes,” he said. “That is a transaction to the broker. And like every company that has scaled up has already deprioritized relationships. They view it as a transaction. They try to churn as many as possible.”
He said brokers who are essential are the ones who treat every customer the same and provide the same care to each transaction regardless of how large the loan amount or what type of loan they’re closing.
“You got to help the person that has a $100,000 loan the same way that you do someone who has a $700,000 loan,” he said. “Because it’s about the person, it’s about the relationship, it’s about building something that lasts. And unfortunately, a lot of people don’t do that. They say they do, but they don’t, truthfully.”
How to be indispensable
The broker who is indispensable in five years, Schieken said, will have reduced the cost of their operation through automation, increased the range of products they can access, and built genuine expertise in a specific borrower segment.
