The event saw executives, members and lender partners gather together
It’s easy to forget, considering the Omicron COVID-19 variant currently rampaging its way across the world, but just a matter of weeks back a semblance of normality had returned to travel with the Canadian government having lifted its blanket advisory against non-essential trips.
That allowed Premiere Mortgage Group the opportunity to finally set off on its much-delayed conference to St Martin, with 125 attendees, including team members, their spouses and lender partners, joining president and CEO Don MacVicar and executive vice president Kerri Reed on the five-night retreat.
That conference had repeatedly fallen foul of the pandemic, having originally been penciled in for the third week of March last year before being rescheduled five more times as a result of COVID-19 concerns.
The fact that the company had managed to stage the event before the emergence of Omicron as a cause of major concern in Canada was particularly satisfying for MacVicar (pictured below), with organizers working around the clock to ensure it was fully COVID-compliant and zero positive cases revealed on the group’s return.
“Now that we look at what’s happening with Omicron, we kind of had this window of opportunity to get that conference and to get home safely,” he told Canadian Mortgage Professional. “And who knows, if it was an extra week later, if it would have even happened. It was extra special being able to pull it off.”
The event opened with a welcome reception on November 27, with some of the corporate team having arrived two days earlier to ensure that everything was correctly set up and compliant with COVID-19 guidelines.
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The following morning saw attendees take in a business gathering that featured a corporate update on the year to date, financials and overall numbers. That was followed by a presentation by business coach and CEO of the EDI Enterprise Performance Group, Tyrone Davids, on topics including growing equity as a broker, transitioning business, and tips on tax and financial planning in the broker space.
Reed (pictured below) was later joined by Paul Bruce, executive vice president – single family residential, at lending giant MCAP, for what MacVicar said was a fascinating discussion on the future trajectory of the mortgage industry.
“Paul did a fantastic job; he was talking about what’s happened in the industry, and [how] the future of the mortgage industry is very, very positive,” he said. “Just looking at overall market share growth and what’s happening from a lender’s perspective is a very positive conversation.”
Those events wrapped up the business component of the conference, with social events including a boat cruise and awards night to celebrate the top producers of the year.
Despite a delay in returning to Canada due to a fuel spillage on the tarmac in St Martin, spirits were kept high by an impromptu airport performance from Halifax-based musician John Cyr, who had joined the group throughout the conference as part of the conference entertainment.
Top of mind for the executives, even with the advisory against non-essential travel lifted, was ensuring the safety of conference attendees in the midst of the ongoing pandemic.
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“Kerri did a great job of making sure everybody was prepared,” MacVicar said. “We wanted to make sure we followed all the proper protocols and then, of course, we had already prearranged for everybody to have their PCR tests.
“The best news of the whole week was when every result came back negative. Luckily everybody got home safe and sound.”
The conference capped off a hugely successful year as a whole for the company, MacVicar said, with highlights having included over 8,000 in deals funded and around $3.4 billion in mortgages originated – a sizeable increase over its 2020 total of $2.6 billion.
Moving into 2022, it’s focused on the fact that the purchase business is likely to slow because of continuing low levels of inventory – not just in Toronto but also in Atlantic Canadian markets.
That’s likely to be counteracted by a stronger refinancing side of the business in the winter and spring, MacVicar said, with sizeable recent increases in property values meaning many Canadians have more equity in their homes than ever.
Moving into the middle of the year, the mortgage industry should be buoyed by the prospect of housing supply finally coming back on to the market, according to MacVicar.
“Next summer, hopefully inventory levels continue to increase and improve, and then we can have a busy purchase market through the late spring and summer as well,” he said.
“In 2022, we’re going to have to work harder to keep the same levels of business that we’ve had over the last two years, so it’s more focus, harder work, and hopefully we’ll continue to see the growth in the business.”
