The Market Overview
Washington DC Metro Area – The Washington D.C. Metro mortgage market, covering thousands of distinct and diverse communities in Northern Virginia and half of Maryland, is one of the five most dynamic and volatile housing and mortgage environments in the U.S. Generating more than 210,000 and $62 Billion in purchase mortgages alone each year, the government-focused metropolis provides a hyper-competitive arena for multiple thousands of mortgage bankers and brokers. Every lender wants to be where the money is and where it's going to grow. With so many aggressive lenders in direct competition, selecting the right communities in which to compete is critical to short term earnings and long term growth and performance.

The Situation
The total year over year origination volume generated in the Washington DC MSA confirms what everyone already knows: next year's mortgage opportunity will be big. But beneath the surface of such a huge opportunity live individual market segments and local communities whose mortgage potential is decelerating rapidly, other markets that are accelerating quickly, many markets that have been steady for years, and other markets that are on the verge of exploding growth.

If there are almost endless numbers of markets and segments contained within the Washington DC metro area, in which ones will you choose to compete? Which counties, which communities, which segments, which sources? Where will it be best for you to invest your time, energy, and money to capture and grow market share that will be sustainable over the long haul? Unless you possess unlimited funds to spend-and possibly lose-to find out, what will be your market priorities? You can't be everywhere at once. Whether you're a large national lender or a small local originator, the priorities you choose will be crucial to future success.

For instance, many retail lenders continue to pursue identical growth strategies. With rapid growth occurring in almost every direction within Maricopa County, the prevailing behavior by lenders is to simply recruit and hire available loan originators wherever they are, without regard to the opportunities offered by individual communities or considering long term household growth projections. In the eyes of many mortgage executives, growth seems to be on the upside everywhere, so there's little reason to worry about a performance downside.

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