The U.S. housing industry has recently seen massive expansions (Rocket's acquisition of Mr. Cooper and Redfin), expansions that look like contractions on the surface (Bayview's acquisition of Guild and taking it private), and all sorts of other business bobs and weaves as we once again find ourselves forging our way forward into the latest incarnation of "the new normal." These various business advancements and adjustments reflect different approaches, but they all have a common core need that their success depends on: Accurate, current, clean data. We recently wrote an article for the National Association of Mortgage Brokers December 2025 tech issue that lays out the characteristics and benefits of clean data versus the pitfalls of using stale and inferior information. We had more than 700 words to say on the topic, so we wanted to expound on what we at InGenius think is a critical core concept for navigating and succeeding in today's market climate: Data is not a technical detail or luxury item, it's a strategic asset.
Most would agree that success in the housing industry requires astute decision-making, operational efficiency, and the ability to create and sustain a competitive advantage. Data is at the core of all of these essential undertakings; the desired outcome will not be achieved if the data used is incorrect, outdated, and incomplete. "Dirty" data undermines the most gifted, experienced, and visionary professionals. The right data - used correctly - can help advance your goals and avoid wasting your time, effort, and money. Here's how:
Invest in what works - cut what doesn't:
- Who is your best-fit loan officer? The right data can help you hone in on loan officers' production level and type, partner relationships, and other characteristics that match your organization's mission and culture, along with current contact information. Avoid courting the wrong people and stack your roster with those who align and can thrive in your company's ecosystem.
- How are your partnerships performing? Review your partner relationships to find out where they're actually sending their business and drill down on agents' stats to make sure you're spending your business development efforts in the right areas, on the right people.
Don't feed your tech junk food:
- The best CRM in the world can't perform to its full capacity if the data it operates on is dirty. This applies to customer contacts as well as recruiting efforts. Outdated contact information, missing or incorrect transaction details, and other data flaws can cause features like agentic AI to cause embarrassing missteps instead of capturing opportunities.
- Current, accurate - i.e., clean - data helps companies and loan officers maintain their connection to their past clients in this era where servicing portfolios are being gobbled up by the biggest players.
Be excellent - with ease:
- Whether you're planning to expand into a new market service area or maximize your presence where you already operate, the right data will reveal where your efforts will be best spent - without the time and hassle of having to manually cull, verify, and scrub target information.
- Data must be quickly and easily accessible in formats that serve your forecasting, targeting, and review goals. The highest and best use of executive, leader, recruiter, and producer talent is applying their skills and experience to action off clean data.
Data is an asset that can make or break the efficacy or success of virtually every business endeavor. It’s virtually impossible to strategize without it in today’s world. The right data brings desired outcomes, while the wrong data fails to achieve desired results. Have you ever heard the saying, "Golf is a game of inches?" The same could be said about data and its role in the housing and lending industries. Data that's "close," or "almost" won't get your business to the leaderboard in today's rapidly evolving climate.
Jeff Walton is CEO of InGenius. With over 35 years in home mortgage and as a CEO and President of large national mortgage companies, Jeff is focused on helping the industry achieve high performance using actionable intelligence. Interested in learning more? Book an intro call with InGenius Data.
