Borrowers and lenders will face these 3 new and unfamiliar ways of doing business

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Business leaders in all parts of the U.S. economy are taking bold steps to respond to the coronavirus crisis. Those of us in the mortgage industry are implementing reforms that will be long-lasting in terms of how lenders operate and how consumers obtain financing. Here are three ways in which the crisis may permanently affect the housing sector:

1. Increased digitization: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in mortgage lenders revisiting and, in many cases, adopting measures to digitize the mortgage process. Firms like the one I lead favor an omni-channel approach, giving consumers the option to work with our loan officers in person or over the phone and online.

The current crisis has “brought forward” some of the internal conversations we were planning to have about how to massively transform the online digitization and automated underwriting process for our borrowers. That time is now, as consumers are opting to research and buy their homes online — not wanting to risk their health with in person exchanges. One popular home listing website saw its online traffic for virtual tours increase more than 190% in March, compared to February. Another real estate brokerage experienced almost a 500% surge in requests for home video tours. Innovative realtors are even providing “drive through closings” in which customers and realtors exchange paperwork and keys while sitting in their own cars.