While some mortgage lenders fail to keep up with the changing times, others are excelling, capitalizing on the change and those who weren’t ready for it. So what’s their secret? Customer service? Technology? An innovative approach to loan originations, and who to lend to? It’s actually all of the above, and more.

Housing economists are at a near consensus that the U.S. housing market is softening, but bull markets might be more likely than bear markets over the coming decades.