Key takeaways:

• If your company leans on phone calls to provide leads with rate information, you risk driving younger borrowers away. 
• Many millennials and Gen Zers report that they actively avoid phone calls. 
• To attract younger homebuyers and refinancers, lending teams can use strategic technology. 
• Options like live rate tables and AI texting can help lending teams generate more leads from younger prospects.

When was the last time you updated your website? And not just the overall look, but the actual user experience behind it?

We’re asking because plenty of lenders still rely on an old staple: “Call for Rates.” This call-to-action once made perfect sense. But technology has advanced significantly and, as a result, a big section of modern borrowers won’t pick up the phone. 

Lending teams that want to keep their pipelines full can’t ignore certain demographics. And if you want to attract Millennial and Gen Z borrowers, “Call for Rates” won’t cut it. You need to make real-time rate data available in ways they’ll actually access.  

Why phone calls should be a last resort with younger borrowers

Older borrowers might be grateful for the opportunity to get information over the phone. After all, that’s the way they probably did things for years and years.

But younger generations don’t have the same view of phone calls. In fact, an argument could be made that they hate them. 

Recently published data revealed that almost half of Millennials say that having to call a stranger makes them feel uncomfortable. Among people from Gen Z, that portion jumps to 65%. That’s basically two out of every three potential leads under 30.  

You can’t assume that leads will step outside their comfort zone for something as important as a mortgage, either. This isn’t just a personal preference thing. Business Insider reports that 42% of polled Millennials and Gen Zers don’t answer phone calls. And they know that could come at a cost. 78% of them said they thought avoiding the phone has cost them money or opportunities. Still, they’re in no hurry to pick up. 

The big takeaway: Most homebuyers and refinancers under 45 avoid phone calls. And if they won’t change that for money or jobs, they’re almost certainly not going to for you.  

What this means for lending teams

The age of the average homebuyer or person refinancing might be ticking up. But so is the age of the people who grew up in a digital-first era. If you focus too narrowly on older demographics, you miss a big portion of the overall market. 

Census data shows that almost 40% of people ages 35 and under are homeowners. Among older Millennials ages 35–44, that jumps to more than 62%. Gen Zers and Millennials might not have the high homeownership rates of older generations, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t buying. 

It’s perfectly fine to still have “Call for Rates” on your website. But to reach younger demographics, it can’t be the only way to offer access to rate info. 

What you can do instead

In today’s world, the lenders who succeed are the ones who offer personalized experiences. That includes options to get rate info in the way the lead personally prefers. 

Beyond soliciting a phone call, you can give them rate data in exchange for their information through:

Personalized rate dashboards

You can show the lead real-time rates tailored to them. The rate dashboard asks for some info like the price of the house they want to buy and their estimated credit score. Then, it serves up live rate data pulled straight from your pricing engine. 

This gives the lead the rate info they’re seeking without ever having to talk to a stranger. But that doesn’t mean it disconnects you. Your loan officers can see how the lead interacts with their dashboard. That allows them to personalize next steps to that individual. 

AI-supported texting

While phone calls might be losing popularity, the opposite is true for texting. One survey found that nearly 30% of respondents say they message more now than they did before. 

An AI texting agent can interact with Millennial and Gen Z leads in the way that’s comfortable for them. And when that AI connects to your pricing engine, it can serve them rate data through that channel. 

This option helps you deliver everything younger Americans expect from their favorite companies: instant responses, personalized messages, and accurate information. Plus, whenever they’re ready to talk to a live person, the AI agent can seamlessly transfer them. 

AI-supported website chat

You can use AI to interact with younger borrowers in another way that’s convenient to them: the chat window on your website. 

They probably regularly interact with website chat features, from Amazon to their doctor’s office to their favorite retailer. By offering a chat window of your own, you can connect with them in a way that’s familiar and comfortable. 

You don’t have to assign a staff member to the chat line, either. AI can handle the bulk of the communication. For example, it can give people near-instant answers and guide them through the early stages of their borrower journey. With an AI website chat that connects to your pricing engine, it can even provide rate quotes. 

This transforms your website into a highly useful tool. Gen Zers and Millennials love convenience. And an AI-supported website chat window gives them precisely that. They can get the info they want without ever having to navigate away from the page. 

Winning mortgage and refinance leads in 2026 and beyond

Times have changed. “Call for Rates” used to seem like a warm invitation. Now, to many younger borrowers, it reads more like a threat. If the idea of calling a stranger makes them uncomfortable, you could lose them.

Or you could offer alternative pathways that are more their style. With modern options like personalized rate dashboards and AI texting or website chat, you meet them where they want to be met. And that can help you beat out the competition that’s still saying, “Call for Rates.” 

Plus, setting up tools like these doesn’t have to be a lot of work. We have pre-built solutions ready for you to deploy. To see how that could work for your lending company, book a demo with our team.

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