Rocket Pro launches broker search platform

Rocket Pro has rolled out a broker portal for borrowers to find local originators.

The Detroit-based mortgage giant's brokernearme.com allows consumers to search for brokers near their address and access profiles which include social media accounts. The site today includes thousands of broker profiles, and they aren't "ranked" on the site, Rocket Cos. CEO Varun Krishna said Tuesday during a livestreamed event.

Dan Sogorka, general manager of Rocket Pro, emphasized that the website doesn't operate as a "pay-to-play" platform, nor does it prioritize brokers based on loan volume originated with Rocket. 

"This is very consumer-focused," he told National Mortgage News. "We want the client to have the best partner experience, and we want to connect them to their best local partner of their choice."

The concept is similar to rival United Wholesale Mortgage's mortgagematchup.com, where users can similarly look up local originators by their address. That site was launched in 2018, and the Pontiac, Michigan-based lender announced a sponsorship with the NBA and WNBA last spring.

When asked about the competitor, Sogorka acknowledged the site but said he was unaware of other broker search portals akin to Rocket's. 

Brokernearme was one of several debuts by Rocket Pro Tuesday. The company's Rocket Pro Navigate, an artificial intelligence tool resembling popular generative AI platforms, also offers brokers among other features a sales coach and document analyzer. A lead discovery feature allows brokers to upload a spreadsheet of client data and ask the AI to scan the information for refinance opportunities. 

Sogorka said the company's tech will dramatically change how broker shops operate. 

"Because all the busy work, all the research, all the meeting preparation, all that stuff just goes away," he said. 

The company during its daylong event announced other initiatives, including a "Broker Manifesto" among which the lender pledges not to poach clients, and advertising featuring some of the company's own broker partners. 

Rocket Pro is the industry's second-largest wholesale player and records tens of billions of dollars in origination volume each quarter. The company, which has leaned heavily into technology, is a few months removed from its Redfin acquisition and anticipating its deal for megaservicer Mr. Cooper to close.