The venture is starting out in Ontario, with imminent expansion in the cards
Canada’s mortgage brokering space has a new entrant with the launch of Swivel Mortgage, an Ontario-based brokerage helmed by industry stalwarts Sung Lee (pictured) and Nigel Singh.
Headquartered in Markham, the new venture is billed as one that offers a “seamless digital experience” to simplify and expedite the mortgage process for borrowers and agents, with Lee telling Canadian Mortgage Professional that huge growth opportunities exist despite the current market turbulence.
“There are some obvious headwinds such as the cooling of the real estate market and rising interest rates which have contributed to nearly a 40% slowdown in mortgage business. But we were never ones to shy away from a challenge,” he said.
“The blessing is that tough times tend to weed out those who can’t weather the storm, so from a recruitment standpoint it helps us to identify those who are really serious about the business – and it also forces us to really hone in on our value proposition to ensure we’re winning clients’ business. So when the market eventually turns, we’ll be set up for success in order to really accelerate our business.”
The company’s name reflects its intention to remain versatile, flexible and innovative, according to Lee, allowing it to provide solutions by having access to a wide array of lenders and solutions while also expanding its business in the future to other areas.
Lauren Haw of Zoocasa, anticipates that the real estate market will experience increased activity once fall begins, despite a slight cooling in national sales in July. https://t.co/zrbZWrehUg#mortgageindustry #housingmarket #houseprices
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) August 30, 2023
Developing a brand in the mortgage market
Building brand recognition with lenders can be a challenge for a new brokerage – but Swivel has been bolstered by the existing relationships its two founders have already developed during lengthy tenures in the industry, Lee said.
“It’s been great that we have previous relationships with lenders,” he said. “So to be able to onboard lenders quickly has been great for us, but then also having contacts throughout the industry and knowing that we’ve launched our brokerage, we’ve been getting mortgage professionals reaching out to us, asking us what our business is like and showing a lot of interest in joining us.”
The company has built its value proposition around a team of “seasoned vets” with the know-how to eke out solutions during a time when securing approval for a mortgage is a more onerous task than ever for many borrowers.
Proprietary training offered by the company includes regular scheduled sessions and a series of features to help agents get up to speed and accelerate their business, with a centralized underwriting desk supporting new and experienced agents who aim to focus more on their clients and less on administrative tasks.
Further expansion targeted
The brokerage is currently licensed in Ontario only, but with plans to launch in Alberta and British Columbia in the coming months – and has launched a program allowing agents to build their own teams and earn revenue share, with a lead generation program also in the works to help agents increase volume numbers.
“At the end of the day, we want to create an environment for agents to really thrive and not just survive,” Lee said.
That’s also seen the launch of Swivel’s so-called Realtor Plus Program, partnering with real estate agents who want more visibility on the financing process of their clients.
“We connected with a lot of realtors during our research and tried to find out what their pain points were, and one was that oftentimes when they take on a client, after they hand them over to a mortgage specialist or a bank or broker, they tend to get cut off from the communication piece to understand where the file is in terms of approval,” Lee explained.
“And so we’ve created a program where we give them visibility on exactly what stage their client’s approval is at and as part of that program, they get to participate in getting some additional revenue from their existing client base.”
The company hopes to scale quickly but intelligently, Lee said. “We want to bring on a mix of new agents and experienced agents – but for the new ones, we’re going to be very particular in [ensuring] that they do have some sort of skill set whether it be social media marketing or digital marketing experience, sales abilities and banking experience.
“There are key ingredients that we’re looking for, that we’re willing to work [with] and mould them into successful agents.”
Make sure to get all the latest news to your inbox on Canada’s mortgage and housing markets by signing up for our free daily newsletter here.
