Training Lenders to Reach Next Generation of Homebuyers

Churchill Mortgage has launched an employee training program that focuses on the housing needs of borrowers who are 18 to 34 years old.

The new Churchill Mortgage Academy program also aims to lure young professionals into a long-term career in the mortgage industry, the Brentwood, Tenn., lender said in a press release Wednesday.

"The path to homeownership for Gen Y borrowers is radically different from previous generations," Mike Hardwick, the president of Churchill Mortgage, said in the release.

A study by BMO Harris Bank shows 74% of these prospective borrowers plan to buy a home in the next five years, with nearly one-third saying that they will buy within the next 12 months, he says. And a National Association of Realtors report last year, "Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends," says that up to 31% of recent homebuyers were millennials, he said.

The next wave of mortgage professionals "must understand [the younger generation's] lifestyles, attitudes and the unique challenges that they face," Hardwick says.

Participants will study mortgage lending for nine weeks, take an exam and then get hands-on training for six months.

Churchill said it plans to recruit qualified participants in 2015 at its offices in Orange, Calif., Brentwood, Tenn., and Dallas.

Related:

Burden of Student Loans Stifles the Housing Market

Why It's Been a Letdown Year in the Housing Market

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