What’s “one of the most prestigious awards you could win” in mortgage?
The CMAs are just over a week away.
The wait is nearly over for the return of the Canadian Mortgage Awards (CMAs), with the hotly anticipated awards ceremony taking place next Thursday (May 2) at the Toronto Congress Centre.
The best and brightest of Canada’s mortgage industry will be out in full force for the annual recognition of the top performers across the sector as leading brokers, brokerages, lenders, BDMs, underwriters and service providers vie for the top prizes.
Excellence Awardees have already been named across each category – but those nominees face an anxious wait between now and next Thursday to discover whether they’ve won the overall award.
For Collin Bruce (pictured top), an Edmonton-based broker and franchise owner at Dominion Lending Centres Mortgage Mentors, coming away with last year’s prize for Broker of the Year – Alberta proved a memory that’s unlikely to fade in a hurry.
“It’s one of the most prestigious awards that you could win as a mortgage broker, besides probably the Lifetime Achievement Award,” he said. “So for me, it’s a really big honour. There’s a lot of work to continually grow your business, and there’s a lot of good brokers out there that are well deserving of the award as well.
“So it’s a really big deal. And what it does for me, I find it just gives me more credibility and just kind of legitimizes with clients of course – but also with other peers in the industry. So it’s a great win.”
The calibre of competition across each category is abundantly clear, with some of the mortgage industry’s best-known faces contending for the ultimate honours – and recognition as the standout performer in their individual field.
What goes into winning a Canadian Mortgage Award?
For Bruce, one of the key factors behind his win was a commitment to forging relationships in the industry and continuing to focus on growing business, even amidst a challenging market and a rising-rate environment in 2022 and 2023.
“Our volume keeps growing year over year. And I think it’s just forming new partnerships,” he said. “We formed a partnership with a pretty large financial planning company over the last year, which helped grow our business.
“Increased advertising spend to drive in more leads [also helped]. I think it was really just looking for new ways to create business instead of staying stagnant.”
That momentum has carried Bruce into a busy market in 2024. Growth in rental prices has helped spur homebuying activity, with renting now viewed as on a par with homeownership – or slightly more expensive – where affordability is concerned.
“You’re seeing a lot of people, a lot of first-time homebuyers starting to jump into the market looking at the price of rent,” he said.
That’s not to mention the influx of newcomers to the province, buoyed by lower prices than those which dominate pricier markets like Toronto and Vancouver.
“We have a lot of new Albertans coming here because they’re moving out of more expensive markets to go to a place where you can own a home,” Bruce said. “We’re finding a lot of clients are able to work remotely, also.
“And then we have seen fixed rates tick down since September, October. So we’re talking internally here: if the Bank of Canada decreases prime, that’s probably more of a news story than anything. I think that’ll just kind of push everybody, all the people sitting on the sidelines to start buying.”
Be sure to register now for a memorable industry event
Registration is still open for this year’s Canadian Mortgage Awards – meaning mortgage professionals should act fast to secure tickets for what’s sure to be an unmissable event.
Simply follow the link above to register for an evening of networking, entertainment and celebration of the mortgage industry’s high achievers from the past 12 months.
Renowned Etalk anchor Tyrone Edwards will anchor proceedings, which will open with a cocktail reception followed by the awards ceremony and dinner banquet and post-awards celebration led by the show-stopping Ascension Groove Band.
Published by Fergal McAlinden
mpamag.com
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