Mortgage MarketSmart Forecast Mapping

development

Summary

Mortgage MarketSmart started as data and an idea—the desire to bring localized mortgage forecasting into the digital age. The map-based product turns iEmergent’s forecasts into actionable insights for mortgage lenders throughout the U.S.

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Challenge

iEmergent was the first organization in the country doing mortgage forecasting that focuses on more than just national numbers. Banks, credit unions, and other mortgage servicers use iEmergent’s data to understand how individual markets (from regions and states to counties and neighborhoods) are expected to perform in terms of purchasing and refinancing. Before partnering with Far Reach, iEmergent sent their customers forecast data in a spreadsheet with a static map. This worked fine as a snapshot, but iEmergent saw enormous value in making the data more readily available, interpretable, and interactive.

Solution

iEmergent and Far Reach teamed up to create iEmergent’s flagship software: Mortgage MarketSmart, a web application that displays iEmergent’s forecast data in interactive maps and data grids. Mortgage MarketSmart started as an idea and transformed into a prototype, a full-blown version 1, and now an optimized version 2. The software has allowed iEmergent to expand beyond its previous customer base and share forecasts with decision-makers across the mortgage lending process.

When you’re developing a new software product, choosing a trusted development partner is one of the most important steps in the process. The long-term relationship is ideally based on mutual trust. A partner that intimately understands the product’s vision and goals can be more effective during the product development process.

After months of discussions and getting to know each other throughout 2012, iEmergent and Far Reach realized we had the makings of a perfect partnership. iEmergent had the data, industry knowledge, and relationships; and we had the team to build Mortgage MarketSmart from concept to market.

In the years since Far Reach and iEmergent teamed up to bring Mortgage MarketSmart to life, the product has grown and transformed as technology has changed and iEmergent has learned what its customers want and need.

In 2012, iEmergent and Far Reach worked together to build a prototype of Mortgage MarketSmart to test the riskiest assumptions (and the partnership). After a successful prototype, the team built version 1 of Mortgage MarketSmart, which launched in October 2013 at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Annual Convention.

As any progressive tech company does, iEmergent was thinking about the new features and enhancements they wanted even before version 1 launched. The ideas were patiently saved into a backlog until 2017 when Microsoft retiring support for Silverlight initiated a system rewrite. Version 2 of Mortgage MarketSmart launched in late 2019 with improvements for both iEmergent and their customers.

"Far Reach has been an essential partner in taking our vision for Mortgage MarketSmart and making it a reality. From designing the application to creating the website to developing the marketing plan, they have been involved in every step. They've brought creative and technical vision to the project in a way that we didn't imagine. They truly are partners and I can't imagine working with any other group of professionals to make Mortgage MarketSmart successful."

Laird Nossuli | CEO, iEmergent