U.S. surveys show 88% of buyers say they’d use the same real estate agent again, but only about one in five ever follow through.
We don’t have identical stats for Canadian mortgage brokers, but the pattern is almost certainly similar, especially considering how many borrowers simply renew with their existing lender.
The issue isn’t disloyalty. Homeowners default to whoever is in front of them at the moment they feel a need. Too often, that isn’t their original mortgage broker.
You’ve seen it in your own business. You send newsletters, birthday messages, mortgage anniversaries…only to learn your client made their next mortgage decision without you.
Why?
Homeowners aren’t deliberately ignoring you; they’re just busy, forgetful, and self-interested like the rest of us. And most mortgage broker marketing fails the three subconscious tests consumers apply:
- Relevance – “Happy Birthday!” isn’t helping them save money or build wealth.
- Personalization – “BoC cut rates 25 bps” doesn’t tell them if they could save (or how much).
- Timing – “Your renewal is approaching” reaches them too late.
Clients don’t ignore your birthday email because they don’t like you. They ignore it because it creates no value for them as homeowners. And once they decide your emails aren’t worth opening, they quietly tune out everything else you send.
What most brokers miss
Clients sought you out for personalized advice tailored to their specific homeownership circumstances. That’s exactly what they still want after closing — even if they don’t realize it.
But homeowners don’t think in terms of mortgages. They think in terms of homeownership: Do I have enough equity to move? Should I renovate instead? Is my home worth what I think it’s worth? Am I overpaying on my mortgage?
They act when something speaks directly to their goals and financial position. They ignore everything that doesn’t.
What homeowners do pay attention to (backed by real data)
At Ownwell, we analyzed thousands of interactions across Canada from our Monthly Homeownership Reports. Two insights dominated the data.
Insight #1: Home content — not mortgage content — is the fastest path to engagement
When we tested two otherwise identical emails with different subjects:
A: “Your New Homeownership Report Is Here”
B: “Your Home Value Has Been Updated”
The home-value version produced 10% more opens.
Inside the report, the most-clicked link wasn’t mortgage-related at all. It was: “How my home value estimate works.”
Why? Because homeowners don’t wake up thinking about mortgages. Mortgages are rational, transactional, and — let’s be honest — boring.
Homeowners wake up thinking about their biggest asset and whether they’re getting closer to or further from their goals. Home content is emotional. Emotion beats logic, which is why home-focused insights outperform mortgage-focused messaging every time.
Insight #2: The bank is not your real competition. Your client’s lack of awareness is.
When homeowners don’t understand their situation, they can’t act. And that costs both them and you money.
When we added a simple, visual breakdown of how equity is calculated, average time spent on the report increased from 42 seconds to 59, and engagement spiked.
Brokers told us their clients admitted they had no idea what their equity was, and some didn’t even know what the term meant!
That’s one kind of awareness gap.
Here’s the other:
Most homeowners also don’t know whether their current rate is competitive, whether breaking their mortgage would actually save them money after penalties, or whether a recent rate movement applies to them.
A generic “Rates dropped” headline creates zero clarity. Clients won’t book a call just to find out if they’re overpaying.
So, between not knowing their equity position and not knowing if their existing mortgage still makes sense, homeowners simply stay put (even when better options exist).
That’s the real competition: not the lender, but lack of visibility.
What top brokers are doing differently
We studied the brokers generating the strongest results from Ownwell — some earning $50K–$100K+ in incremental commissions in under a year.
Here’s what they didn’t do:
- They did not try to predict which clients “would act.”
- They did not cherry-pick who they added to Ownwell.
- They did not avoid sharing bad news.
Top earners focused on one thing: conversations (where they could demonstrate their value).
They know you can’t predict who will act because action isn’t always triggered by rates or equity. Sometimes it’s:
- a new baby
- a separation
- an aging parent
- a debt situation
- a dream of upgrading when the right listing appears
Ownwell’s monthly insights help surface the moment when a client is most likely to need advice, often for reasons the broker couldn’t possibly anticipate.
And when a report revealed something “negative,” top performers didn’t hesitate. They wanted the conversation.
Because the adviser who helps a client navigate a challenge is always remembered more than the adviser who sends a birthday email.
The new playbook
Be relevant.
Be personal.
Be frequent.
If you do those three things consistently, you’ll be in front of the client the moment their “lightbulb moment” happens.
That’s how you stop losing business to inertia.
Want to see these playbooks in action?
We’re hosting a free live session tomorrow — Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. ET — that breaks down:
- The three playbooks top brokers are using to generate $50–$100K in extra commissions
- How Amanda generated 10 refis from 75 past clients in under six months
- How Jeff generated 13 refis/transfers and 7 sell-and-buys in eight months
- How brokers are now repeating this success with their Realtor partners’ databases — one broker alone generated 20 refinances in under six months this way
If you’ve ever wondered why some brokers have clients reaching out constantly while others struggle to get a single reply, this session will show you the difference.
Reserve your spot here (limited to 500 attendees)
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broker marketing broker tips Dan MacDonald lead conversion strategies mortgage strategies ownwell sponsored
Last modified: November 25, 2025
