Mortgage Costs Are Up, So Lenders Are Attacking Friction
Mortgage rates are hovering around their highest levels in nearly three years, with several reports putting the 30-year fixed rate near 7.4%. Refinance rates are similar, with recent averages around 7.51% for a 30-year refi and 6.63% for 15-year terms.
Higher borrowing costs have cooled purchase demand, slashed refinance applications and pushed lenders to tighten credit and trim products like cash-out refinances and investor loans. In response, a wave of technology upgrades is targeting everything else that makes mortgages slow and expensive: paperwork, insurance, and credit report costs.
One-Click Homeowners Insurance Is Becoming a Reality
One of the most time-consuming parts of closing can be securing homeowners insurance and getting proof back to your lender. That is exactly the pain point addressed by a new integration between LenderLogix and the insurance platform Jerry.
Within LenderLogix’s LiteSpeed point-of-sale platform, borrowers who have submitted a mortgage application can shop homeowners insurance directly from their borrower dashboard. The integration connects borrowers with quotes from more than 100 insurers and automatically delivers lender-ready evidence of insurance.
For borrowers and loan officers, that means:
- No separate insurance shopping session on third-party sites.
- Fewer back-and-forth emails to track down proof of coverage.
- Less chance that a missing insurance document delays the closing date.
It is one example of a broader move to pull critical tasks, like insurance selection, into the same digital experience as the mortgage application itself.
Credit Report Costs Get a Makeover
With rates high and volumes down, every dollar of loan manufacturing cost is under scrutiny. Credit data is a prime target, and several major bureaus are rolling out tools designed to cut those early-stage expenses.
Experian has announced enhancements to its Power Profile Plus for Mortgage solution. The focus is on reducing early-stage credit costs while giving lenders the speed, simplicity and score flexibility they need to support consumers on their path to homeownership.
In parallel, Equifax and TransUnion are introducing new ways for lenders to buy credit information. Their tools allow mortgage companies to pull credit files without scores at first and add scores later, effectively unbundling reports and scores.
According to industry coverage, these “score later” and à la carte options:
- Target rising per-loan origination expenses by letting lenders delay or avoid some score fees.
- Support greater choice among credit-scoring models as the industry transitions to new standards.
- Give lenders more flexibility in when and how they incur costs during the loan process.
For borrowers, you may not see these tools directly, but they can influence the fees you pay and the credit options your lender can offer.
AI and Automation Are Taking Over Repetitive Tasks
Another area seeing rapid change is back-office processing. Lenders are adopting AI-driven tools to handle the document-heavy workflows that used to require hours of manual review.
MeridianLink’s AI-powered Doc Agent for Mortgage, now live with three lenders, is designed to review borrower documents, extract key information, identify missing materials and simplify document requests. By reducing manual document handling, the tool aims to shorten turn times and cut operational costs.
Workflow platform Vesta reports that its agents and automated workflows now complete about 40% of tasks performed on its mortgage platform. Lenders still maintain responsibility for credit decisions, but a significant share of routine work is shifting to automation.
These trends are not limited to large lenders. Tools focused on brokers and advisers are also emerging, such as:
- Instamo FastSubmit through JammJar, which can autofill Decisions in Principle (DIPs) and full applications up to 10 times faster, reducing administration and speeding lender submissions.
- Mortgage Brain’s Submissions Brain upgrades, which have enhanced integration with Nationwide’s DIP process to streamline how intermediaries submit and track applications.
Together, these technologies are quietly redefining what “normal” processing speed and accuracy look like in mortgage lending.
Joined-Up Experiences from Application to Closing
Technology is also being used to knit together the traditionally fragmented journey between real estate agents, lenders and closing teams. A new joint venture between eXp Realty and Newrez, Revenos Mortgage, is one example.
The partnership aims to deliver a more seamless homebuying experience from application through closing. By more closely aligning the real estate brokerage and the mortgage provider, the JV is designed to reduce friction points that often arise when multiple independent parties coordinate a single transaction.
Elsewhere, lenders and brokers are expanding the reach of digital submission tools like FastSubmit, using integrations to cut duplicate data entry and accelerate lender decisions. Chartwell Mortgage Services’ adoption of Instamo’s technology, for instance, is specifically intended to cut administration and speed submissions to lenders.
What Borrowers and Industry Pros Can Do Right Now
These upgrades are rolling out in a market where purchase activity is down, remortgaging is recovering in some segments, and lenders are tightening credit in response to rate hikes. Against that backdrop, the right technology stack can be a genuine differentiator.
If you are a borrower or homebuyer:
- Ask your lender whether you can shop homeowners insurance within their online portal and receive instant proof of coverage.
- Request clarity on credit report and score fees, and whether your lender uses tools that help manage or minimize those costs.
- Look for signs of automation, such as fewer repetitive document requests and faster responses after you upload paperwork.
If you are a lender, broker or originator:
- Highlight your technology advantages in your marketing and borrower conversations, especially around speed to decision and ease of documentation.
- Use AI and automation tools to redeploy staff time from data entry to higher-value borrower counseling.
- Evaluate new credit and insurance integrations not just on cost, but on how they streamline the borrower journey from first click to closing.
Mortgage rates and underwriting trends will always ebb and flow. What is changing more permanently is the expectation that mortgages should be faster, more transparent and less labor-intensive. The latest wave of integrations and AI tools shows that the industry is moving steadily in that direction.
