“When
we
think
about
how
we’re
diversifying,
obviously,
Rocket
is
very
consumer-direct
—
we
have
our
direct-to-consumer
channel.
But
we’re
also
diversifying
in
the
field
through
our
brokers
as
well
as
our
local
loan
officers,
and
we’ll
be
able
to
add
to
that
through
the
Redfin
acquisition
as
well
here
very
soon,”
Lovier
said
on
stage
during
the

Mortgage
Bankers
Association
(MBA)
Secondary
and
Capital
Markets
Conference
in
New
York
on
Tuesday. 

In
March,
Rocket
struck
a
deal
to

acquire
digital
real
estate
brokerage
firm
Redfin
for
$1.75
billion,
bringing
in
its
distributed
retail
arm,


Bay
Equity
Home
Loans.
This
isn’t
the
first
time
Rocket
has
engaged
with
local
loan
officers.
In
2023,
the
company
ramped
up
efforts
to

hire
remote
LOs
to
boost
purchase
activity,
as

HousingWire
reported
—
a
move
later
confirmed
by
a

company
executive.

According
to
Lovier,
Rocket
aims
to
meet
clients
wherever
they
are
in
their
homeownership
journey. 

“We
have
just
recently
regionalized
inside
our
consumer
direct
space
to
make
sure
that
the
loan
officers
who
are
working
with
clients
who
want
to
communicate
in
a
digital
format
can
do
that,
but
also,
they
are
the
experts,”
Lovier
said.

While
having
LOs
licensed
in
25
states
is
great
for
scale,
Lovier
noted
that
a
more
localized
approach
is
critical
for
the
home-buying
process
—
especially
in
providing
a
single
point
of
contact
to
serve
both
clients
and
real
estate
agents.

“We
have
about
2,200
agents
at
Redfin
that
we’ll
be
working
closely
with,
but
we’ve
also
built
many
relationships
that
we
need
to
continue
fostering.
We
want
to
ensure
we’re
supporting
them
in
the
right
zip
codes,
at
the
right
time,
with
the
right
knowledge
—
so
that
everyone
can
feel
confident
with
that
single
point
of
contact
as
they
move
forward,”
Lovier
said.

Regarding
Rocket’s
deal
to
acquire
Mr.
Cooper,
Lovier
said
the
move
strengthens
the
company’s
recapture
capabilities.
For
Rocket
TPO
—
its
broker
channel
—
the
focus
is
on
ensuring
that
brokers
have
the
tools
they
need.
In
April,
Rocket
took
a
major
step
by
integrating
with


ARIVE,
a
leading
software
platform
used
by
mortgage
brokers.

Overall,
Lovier
emphasized
that
getting
a
mortgage
is
one
of
the
biggest
financial
transactions
a
person
can
make,
yet
the
process
remains
fragmented
—
from
searching
for
a
home
to
securing
financing.

“Obviously,
servicing
follows
suit,
but
we’re
really
trying
to
support
the
homeownership
journey
from
beginning
to
end,”
Lovier
said.
“Some
of
the
acquisitions
that
we’ve
made
are
very
specific
to
that
goal.
We’ve
tried
to
build
some
of
it
ourselves
—
and
we
realized
that
other
players
are
better
at
certain
pieces.
That’s
why
bringing
our
companies
together
to
complete
the
homeownership
journey
is
so
important
to
us.”