Rocket Mortgage president and CEO Jay Bray has spent his first year leading the company’s direct-to-consumer segment after taking the position in October 2025.
Speaking on stage Tuesday at the Rocket Pro Experience (RPX) event in Detroit, Bray reflected on his more than 25 years leading Mr. Cooper Group and said he continues to define his career around “partner quality.” That focus helped drive Mr. Cooper’s decision to join Rocket, he said, citing the company’s brand, financial strength, technology, product investment and culture.
Bray told brokers that financial resources and deeper partnerships will be key differentiators as the mortgage market navigates a downturn. He described the decision to combine Mr. Cooper’s servicing platform with Rocket’s technology and origination capabilities as “the biggest” call of his career.
In a conversation with HousingWire, Bray discussed how he is leading Rocket Mortgage with a competitive edge and is betting big on Rocket Pro to connect with local markets.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Sarah Wolak: A lot of what you and Austin Niemiec talked about on stage was the move to Rocket — and the move that many are either considering or experiencing right now. What factors in the mortgage space are encouraging people to make the move? Are the recent headlines about United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) pushing this?
Jay Bray: I think it’s a combination. I think we, as Austin said, flipped more partners in the last 90 days than we’ve flipped in years, so I think the momentum has been building because of the investments and because of some of the Power Plays that we’ve rolled out. I think what’s happened with UWM is a big catalyst because it’s got people really thinking, ‘OK, what am I doing here?’ and ‘I need to protect my franchise,’ and so I think that’s building on the momentum that we’d already established.
Wolak: Does Rocket see any changes in prices by competitors who are facing broad financial challenges, and are you able to capitalize on that at all right now?
Bray: We look at competitive pricing to the degree we can with the tools that are out there, and yeah, I think the competitors that are in financial trouble and have some fragility are definitely seeing their price creep up — and Rocket’s price is better than that. And so we plan to take full advantage of that and seize the opportunity.
Wolak: Rocket Pro had a big pricing announcement today. How does this apply to the Rocket Mortgage side of the business, and how do you expect that to push production and the momentum that’s already happening?
Bray: Look, it’s a tough market. … We don’t see rates coming down in the near term. So I don’t know that you’re going to see a tremendous uptick in volume. But I think the way we think about it is, how do we capture as much share as possible? And so with that 60 basis points baked in and having the transparency for our partners, we think that [our partners] can go to it every day consistently and count on it. And with that, it should increase our volume [and] it should increase our share. But I think overall market volume is going to remain a bit depressed.
Wolak: Let’s shift the conversation to servicing. Ever since Rocket acquired Mr. Cooper, many other deals have been announced in the servicing space. What do you think about the economics of the deals and the general consolidation happening in the space right now?
Bray: I think people are starting to realize that it’s tough just being an originator. At the end of the day, especially in a market like this, having that servicing portfolio and having the cash flow definitely makes you a more all-weather company. And I think that’s kind of what people are realizing — ‘Look, it’s going to be difficult if I don’t have servicing. If I don’t have customers that I can potentially keep for the rest of their life, it’s going to be a tough road.’ And so I think Rocket was an early adopter.
Wolak: Some sources have said it’s getting harder to be on their own because they have to compete with companies that have the whole flywheel. Is Rocket having conversations with these smaller companies about how they can bring value while helping them to maintain their independence?
Bray: Pro is a perfect example. We’re investing tons of money to make things easier for those entrepreneurs, for those small businesses, and so that’s how we’re kind of viewing the world. The Pro channel is our entry into the local markets, and so the way we’re making it better for them is to just keep investing, give them better tools, make it cheaper, better, faster.
If you look at our correspondent business, that was kind of core to Mr. Cooper, and when we did the acquisition with Rocket, we moved that team over. … And as of July, we’re the No. 1 correspondent and co-issue lender in the country, and so we’ve seen a lot of growth there. and we love that channel because it’s heavy purchase and we have great partners there as well.
Wolak: One thing that has been a side conversation in the industry is the transition to new credit scores. Bill Pulte has mentioned changes to LLPAs, but how have the changes been going at Rocket? What do you think needs to be done going forward as new LLPA changes are considered?
Bray: It’s a great question — might have to get back to you on that. We were an early adopter of VantageScore 4.0 and I think it’s probably too early to declare a victory, if you will. But you know, I think it’s something that time will tell as we kind of progress.
Wolak: In May, it was announced that Rocket and Redfin were offering a duo incentive that offers eligible home buyers and sellers up to $20,000 in savings. How has that been going?
Bray: It’s been going really well. If you look at our Compass partnership, where we’ve had the most success is with Pro. Local brokers working with Compass agents get that full incentive, and so that’s where we’ve seen the most traction for sure.
Wolak: Is that why you mentioned in your conversation with Austin on stage that you consciously decided to focus on Rocket Pro?
Bray: That was one of them for sure, but it was a combination. I think the channel has tremendous opportunity, and I think when you look at our share in the Pro channel versus what I think it should be, there is a lot of opportunity to grow. And so when I just looked across Rocket and said, ‘OK, what are some strategic bets we want to make?’ This was definitely at the top of the list.
Wolak: The last thing I wanted to discuss was leadership changes. This week, Alessio Sanfilippo was named CEO of Redfin. Will you work alongside Alessio at all, and if so, how do you expect to change your day-to-day interactions or dealing with Redfin at all?
Bray: Most certainly, we’ll work together. I love him. I’ve only met him like three times now, but he is brilliant. He’s passionate and I’ve still been very close to Redfin, and that won’t change nonetheless.