How to steer a company to the top in three years

“I don’t think necessarily my being a woman changes what I feel as being an elite leader in the industry. I think the biggest thing in today’s environment is driving culture and having empathy for your employees,” she said. “I’m never the smartest person in the room. I’m never the best at everything, but I have a determination and will like no other.”

If there’s a secret sauce at NMB, it’s the “company culture”, a term bandied around so often these days that it has virtually lost all meaning, but it still holds true for Hall.

“There are a number of individuals who can run their own mortgage companies, but we’re fortunate enough that our employees have chosen to do it with us. I know it’s a cliche and that ‘culture’ sometimes is a statement on the wall at the outside to see, but the more you show that you care, that leads to better customer service,” she said.

Her formative years may have helped to shape her outlook. Nonetheless, the ability to think on one’s feet and to adapt to changing circumstances have always been highly desirable skills to have, perhaps now more than ever, given that the outlook on the housing market is less certain than it was before the Federal Reserve announced its intention to raise interest rates this year and the next.

“I don’t think we’re going to see 5% interest rates for mortgages. It’s still relatively inexpensive to buy a home when you look at your comparison of what rental markets are doing and how high rents are,” she said. “I also think people have saved up a lot of money during the pandemic – they have more in their savings accounts today than they’ve ever had.”