Unlock the power of data with Nora Guerrero, SVP of Community Lending at Guild, as she reveals how to turn insights into impactful business outcomes. Discover her journey from analyzing housing trends during unprecedented times to leading data-driven strategies that shape the future of the mortgage industry.
Learn how Nora became a "data nerd" by meticulously studying industry reports, white papers, and buyer personas. She'll share her secrets to cutting through the noise, identifying key trends, and utilizing crucial data points – like the significant millennial homeownership potential – to inform strategic decisions.
Explore Nora's role at Guild, where she leverages data to educate realtor partners and develop programs that resonate with diverse buyer segments across different geographies. See how a deep understanding of evolving market dynamics and consumer behavior can drive success.
#DataDrivenHousing #MortgageIndustry #HousingTrends
Learn how Nora became a "data nerd" by meticulously studying industry reports, white papers, and buyer personas. She'll share her secrets to cutting through the noise, identifying key trends, and utilizing crucial data points – like the significant millennial homeownership potential – to inform strategic decisions.
Explore Nora's role at Guild, where she leverages data to educate realtor partners and develop programs that resonate with diverse buyer segments across different geographies. See how a deep understanding of evolving market dynamics and consumer behavior can drive success.
#DataDrivenHousing #MortgageIndustry #HousingTrends
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NewsTranscript
00:04All right, join me in welcoming our second executive today, Nora Guerrero, to talk about how she takes Insight to
00:10Action at Guild.
00:12Nora, welcome.
00:13Thanks.
00:15All right.
00:16Nora, we had, like, one of the most exciting prep calls.
00:19I know Brenna, who you all know, who coordinates and manages our events, left on a complete high after learning
00:26about your career of using data and analysis to drive business outcomes, starting with your time in the GSEs to
00:34today at Guild.
00:36Tell us a little bit.
00:37Give us a glimpse into your career and how you have excelled bringing data and taking Insight to Action in
00:45the mortgage industry.
00:45You know, I was so privileged to work at Freddie Mac, and I have to tell you, I always say
00:50things like, I'm a forever student of our industry.
00:52And the reason I say that is when COVID happened, I remember my executive leaders at Freddie Mac were saying
00:57things like, we really have to look at the data.
01:00And I remember telling my team back then, no, we need to go above and beyond.
01:05So I partnered with some of the best economists and analysts, and I just started seeing and following trends.
01:11What I told them is, I am out doing these presentations to the entire housing industry.
01:17You know, something you should consider is, I've been in the housing industry for 25 years.
01:22I've done operations for some of the bigger banks, you know, starting off as a subprime underwriter.
01:27And I have to tell you, this industry is forever evolving.
01:30Like, it's such a different market.
01:32I think of today, and I think of, you know, there's $32 trillion worth of equity accumulated out there.
01:38We have lack of inventory, and we have the largest demand of buyers.
01:42So during COVID, I remember thinking, you know what, I need to be the best student.
01:47I need to read data and analytics.
01:49I need to follow trends.
01:50I need to do the research myself so that I can help inform our housing industry how to navigate this
01:56low-rate environment.
01:57But also, you know, I was part of this amazing four-year study where Freddie Mac went and studied buyer
02:04personas.
02:05And I saw the data, and I started seeing the surveys, and I started really understanding our industry is quite
02:10evolving.
02:11As a leader, I need to be at the forefront of this.
02:14So that's exactly when I became a data nerd.
02:18And I have to tell you, I love data, so I'm so excited to be here because I want to
02:22utilize all the data presentations that are going to be shared today.
02:26Most of them I've already seen in advance, but the forecasts are really what are telling and helping us make
02:31informed decisions.
02:32I want to get into how you communicate what you've learned and how you use it in business.
02:37But I want to start with the earlier origins of your data journey.
02:41Yeah.
02:42How did you learn to cut through the noise to get to the signal?
02:46Like, what data points, what research did you find most important as you started communicating and teaching about housing economics?
02:55You know, the data in writing, white papers, I love white papers.
02:59I really study a lot of, like, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies has a lot of really great stuff
03:04out there.
03:04Of course, MBA, yes, I love NAR.
03:07Jessica, she knows I'm such a big fan, and the work that they do is fantastic.
03:11But what I did is I started over layering data, so I started seeing white papers, I started seeing data
03:17reports, and I kept saying, you know, what is the real trend here?
03:21And I started being able to identify where the trends really matter, and I think that is the key point.
03:27You know, a lot of data is not needed.
03:30I do use 17 data sets for many of the strategies that I deploy.
03:34However, what I think that's important is you being able to identify that data tells me where I need to
03:41go, that's the data I need to use.
03:43Or it's a trend, you know, I think right now a lot of millennials, I mean, there's 71.2 million
03:48millennials out there, 50 million haven't bought a home.
03:51I mean, that to me immediately says, you know, I need to focus on millennials.
03:57So I do a lot of data presentations to my housing industry partners, our realtors, builders, developers.
04:04I mean, I speak at a lot of conferences to be able to share easy data that's digestible, and you
04:10can go out there and make a business plan out of it.
04:12Tell us about your role at Guild.
04:14What are you tasked to do every day?
04:16Why did you join the organization?
04:18How has that evolved?
04:18So I used to manage some really great clients when I was at Freddie Mac, and Guild started seeing my
04:24data presentations,
04:25and they said, can we do this all over the country?
04:29Let's go educate Guild's realtor partners, business partners.
04:33Nora, will you commit to really going out on the road, and let's be an educational partner?
04:38So I was like, absolutely.
04:40And I really started seeing their programs.
04:43As I was presenting, they would do program presentations, and I thought, that data, those buyers, and those programs, they're
04:50going to equate.
04:51And I used to actually start educating them, hey, that program that you have, that would be fantastic for the
04:56buyer segment.
04:57And I would talk about age demographic.
04:59I would talk about, you know, different buyers in different geographies, MSAs.
05:04And I remember the CEO, Terry, who's amazing, and David Nalen, our president, approached me, and they're like, you're coming
05:11to Guild.
05:12And I was like, oh, wow.
05:14But, you know, it was the right place to go.
05:17I'm super proud of the work that I do.
05:19So as a SVP of community lending, I actually deployed last year 18 housing initiatives in really strategic key markets.
05:28You guys, on day one, because I had so much data knowledge, I was able to see their footprint, their
05:34geography, where they wanted to grow.
05:36So within three months, I had built a team, a really strong team of analysts and project managers, and I
05:41was on the road.
05:42What's an example of some of those initiatives?
05:44Actually, I partnered with South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, a really accretive market.
05:50And it's somewhere where Guild said, we want to expand.
05:53So I reached out, and I became best friends with Mayor Rickman.
05:57Actually, I was just responding to an email he sent.
06:00And Brooklyn Baptist, their pastor, said, we have so much financial literacy need.
06:04I teach financial literacy.
06:06I'm an ambassador to Freddie Mac's award-winning Credit Smart.
06:10So I told him, I can bring value.
06:12Our loan officers can pre-qualify, you know, your congregation.
06:16But, Mayor, we would like you to champion this community.
06:19Would you help us?
06:20And he said, affordable housing is a bipartisan topic.
06:23Nora, we're very excited to partner with you.
06:26And, you guys, we had so many pre-qualified buyers that had been historical renters.
06:30That's also a trend for this millennial population.
06:33And that's just one market.
06:35I was in 18 markets.
06:36And in six months, I executed 30 events of financial literacy.
06:40Many people.
06:41But I bring the housing ecosystem to the communities that I serve.
06:45So the HUD counselor, you know, that's going to help that buyer that's not mortgage-ready.
06:49And that's where the value really is added.
06:51And the reason I discovered that gap, you know, between our industry and the consumer was because I was starting
06:58to see big trends.
06:59Our industry is quite seasoned.
07:01You know, according to NMLS, a loan officer is 54.
07:05According to the DRE, the average agent is 56.
07:08There has to be a conversational gap.
07:10So you're not just going directly to consumers to teach.
07:13You're also doing a lot of work with originators and agents, which is how you reach scale.
07:19How do you make housing economics and housing data not be intimidating?
07:23How do you teach originators to go out and solve fear and concern about the housing market with data and
07:33facts?
07:33I think the easiest way, dispel the myth.
07:36You know, if you think of our loan officers, they get overwhelmed with so much data because they're structuring a
07:41transaction.
07:41They're selling rate.
07:43Something I tell my loan officers is I have these webinars constantly on buyer personas, interest rate, economics.
07:50You know, the buyers, as I go out to these communities, the one thing they're telling me is,
07:55Nora, what makes sense for me?
07:58Why should I buy today?
07:59And I tell them, does the payment make sense for you?
08:02Don't focus on that interest rate.
08:03That's the highest interest rate you're going to have.
08:05You can refinance thereafter.
08:06And they're like, oh.
08:08And I say, but can you qualify and can you make that mortgage payment?
08:12That's where the focus is.
08:14By the way, that's a trend.
08:14A lot of these economists are going to mention a focus on payment versus interest rate right now.
08:21And then I talk to our housing industry professionals.
08:24A lot of them, it takes a little while to pivot.
08:28A lot of this data is telling you the story.
08:31The way that I approach data is I need to make an informed decision and I need to make it
08:36early on.
08:37If I feel this is an impactful trend, like migration, because migration is impacting housing so much since the onset
08:44of COVID.
08:45I've been tracking migration with our Freddie Mac economist and I was seeing inbound, outbound state migration.
08:51And then I was seeing, you know, migration out of urban, out of suburban and into rural.
08:56And now we have rural conversations all the time.
08:59So seeing that data early and saying, oh, yeah, this is going to impact borrowers.
09:04I need to create a strategy around this.
09:06Two of the things I think about most when it comes to housing data are how do you kind of
09:13dispel national headlines and take it to local expertise?
09:16And then how do you identify large multi-year, multi-quarter trends through weekly data?
09:24We know it's important to understand what's happening at the national market because that's what many of our consumers are
09:29hearing about as they read national news or watch the morning news or talk to their friends and family.
09:35We also know that everybody sees headlines on weekly mortgage apps and housing confidence.
09:43But ultimately, though, you have to understand the full picture to really give good advice.
09:47How do you help originators, you know, take national headlines and dispel it down to what's happening in their market?
09:53That's a really great question.
09:55When I do a PowerPoint presentation or a presentation to our originators, I start with the state of the housing
10:00market.
10:01What is happening on a national level?
10:03I talk about trends.
10:04I talk about anything that's impactful, interest rates, inventory, almost like the big picture.
10:10And then I break it down into microdata.
10:13And I say, this is what's happening in a great example.
10:17I'm doing a webinar tomorrow as soon as I land for Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association.
10:22And one thing they asked is, Nora, we're really concerned about microdata, about our MSAs.
10:27And I really love to go in and talk about MSAs that have a migration, that have inventory, and also
10:35have that buyer population.
10:36But I also think of, like, employment, you know, just almost that sweet spot of where these consumers may be
10:42historical renters, but they also qualify for a mortgage, possibly.
10:46They just don't know that they need to get prequalified.
10:50Are you mortgage ready or are you not mortgage ready?
10:52So I go from big picture, I break it down, and then I love to include buyer persona.
10:57And then always product.
10:58You know, what product is going to help this type of buyer?
11:01And I break it down by product.
11:03And sometimes that makes it digestible.
11:05You know, if they see the bigger picture and, you know, it's almost like doom and gloom, you know, you're
11:11not going to really extract the right data out of that.
11:14Yeah.
11:15Okay, so I know you've done a lot of, we've talked about the field and how you work with LOs
11:18and agents.
11:19I know you've also been a partner to strategy and corporate leadership at Guild.
11:24How is housing market data and economic data fueling corporate strategy at the highest level?
11:30You know, I think reacting to data early instead of, you know, when it hits the market and everybody jumps
11:37on board is really important.
11:38Like I mentioned, I think identifying trends early that we know are going to impact our industry have been very
11:45pivotal.
11:46Day one of me joining Guild, I had a call with our CEO and our president and I said, these
11:51are strategic markets.
11:52These are accretive markets.
11:53This is where we're at.
11:54This is our footprint.
11:55This is where we can grow.
11:57These are markets that we need to go after.
12:00And they were, and all it is is PowerPoint presentations with data, heat maps.
12:04You guys, I live for a good heat map.
12:06And I have to tell you, my team are experts on heat maps now.
12:09And, you know, when I was showing them, here is the picture.
12:13Let me show you.
12:14But this is what it can look like a year from now.
12:17And I have to tell you, I was telling you in our prep call, I had already built our entire
12:222026 business plan, June of 2025, after only six months at the organization.
12:28I knew exactly where I was going to go.
12:30And I have to tell you, I've already deployed it.
12:32You guys, I, today is like February 10th.
12:36We've already executed 21 impactful housing industry events.
12:40And it's easy to execute when you really understand the data.
12:45It's almost, and I'm ready to pivot.
12:46You know, someone said to me the other day, you know, I feel like you're so confident in the data
12:50that it's easy for you to pivot.
12:52And I feel that when you do the research around the data and you start understanding it and fully comprehend,
12:58and let me tell you,
12:58I don't want you to go and take every report and say, I've got to study this.
13:03No, it's really, I have to tell you, AI is awesome at helping you dispel the myth on, you know,
13:09on the housing industry.
13:11You know, just see what your organization is doing or also just your business plan.
13:15I was telling loan officers, you better create your business plan around data analytics.
13:19So when you identified markets where there's a lack of coverage or a growth opportunity, what action did Terry take?
13:26Was this like fueling M&A ideas, fueling strategic recruiting, fueling marketing efforts?
13:31Like, where do you go?
13:33Where did you go after that conversation?
13:35Immediately to our sales team, to our EVP of sales.
13:39And I told him, these are the 11 markets we're going to go after.
13:43And I started identifying, you know, five or six additional markets that were on big trends.
13:48And I started seeing big inventory coming in.
13:51And I told him, we're going to have to add additional markets.
13:53And they were like, I trust you, let's go.
13:57And after that, of course, marketing.
13:59You know, I went to our SVP of marketing and I told him, we need to create some really great
14:04strategies.
14:04By the way, I already have them out.
14:06Like, I've already created them.
14:08Just partner with me.
14:09And, you know, we went out and executed rather quickly.
14:12One of the pieces of advice that I've, like, long lived by is have a bias toward action.
14:18How do you avoid paralysis by analysis?
14:22You have all this data.
14:23You've talked about all these different things to your team.
14:25How do you make sure people are ready to take action and go and not waiting for next week's data
14:29and next week's data and waiting for, like, the gray decision-making to turn into perfect clarity?
14:35Yeah.
14:35You know, I think having clear communication.
14:38I think, you know, presenting the data and then saying, here's plan A, plan B, and plan C.
14:43And we pivot and we pivot fast.
14:45Something I tell our loan officers is do not wait for me or data to come along.
14:50You need to stay informed and you need to be ready to pivot.
14:53So if this strategy doesn't work, in two days we pivot right away.
14:57I have to tell you, my team says, we're ready to pivot.
14:59And I'm like, relax, this is still working.
15:01Like, take it easy, everyone.
15:03But, you know, I have to tell you, yeah, there is definitely data paralysis.
15:07Sometimes a lot of what's being put out there, you guys, it's not positive.
15:12It's not positive for us in the industry because it is, you know, the reality of our industry.
15:17But I have to tell you, you can take lack of inventory.
15:20You know, think of solutions to that.
15:22I have to tell you, I think of, you know, ADUs.
15:25I think of multi-generational households who love ADUs.
15:29I think of, you know, cross mods.
15:30I think of renovation.
15:31Let's renovate existing housing stock.
15:34I have products around all that.
15:36So let's, instead of talking about the challenge, let's talk about the challenge, address it,
15:40but let's discuss solutions.
15:42And I think that, with so much data behind it, really starts to make sense.
15:48Insight to action.
15:49Nora, thank you so much.
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