Mat Ishbia predicts new refi boom ahead

Yet to be successful and grow one’s business, one needs to focus on one’s own team, he added: “You need a great team to be successful. No-one’s won a championship ever in life alone. People need help, people need a team. I’m proud of being a part of the team with you guys. I want you guys to think about your team – whether it’s your processors, the broker owner of your company, whether it’s the title company, appraisal management, whether it’s a lead source provider, whether it’s another vendor. That’s part of your team, and everyone’s got to be on their game, or you can’t win.”

Read more: Proving that brokers are better

The goal of the game at hand is not a shiny trophy or bragging rights, he suggested. It’s broker owner growth. “What is my goal for my team, which includes you guys?” he asked. “I have one goal. It’s very simple – it’s the broker channel growth, you guys growing. Look what we used to be – over 50%. We’re going to go back there together one day at a time, working as a team. It’s not about UWM; it’s not about you; it’s not about any individual. Everyone in this room’s gotta do a little bit more for us to get to this goal. We’re going to keep helping you recruit loan officers, continue to help you recruit real estate agents, educate consumers.”

Ishbia said part of the motivation to take his company public in January 2021 was to educate the public as it relates to working with brokers: “One of the reasons we went public is to educate consumers that brokers are truly better,” he said. “The best place for consumers to get a loan, the best place for a loan officer to work. Those are facts. Why would anyone go to a non-broker? Why would you do it? It doesn’t make sense. The only reason is they don’t know yet, and we’ll teach them one day at a time.”