Trail books aren’t protected by the market — they’re protected by the continuation process

After reading a recent Mortgage Professional Australia article on rising trail book valuations, one thing stood out.

There’s a lot of focus on premium multiples and buyer competition. All valid.
But trail books rarely lose value because markets turn — they lose value because relationships aren’t actively managed.

Valuations don’t collapse overnight

They erode.

Not because of rates alone.
Not because of cashback offers.
But because too many books rely on time passing instead of value being reinforced.

“Seasoning” isn’t passive.

Loans don’t become sticky just because they’re 24–60 months old. Clients stay when reviews are broker-led, contact is proactive, and the relationship is advisory — not transactional.

Refinancing isn’t the enemy

Unmanaged refinancing is

In bull markets, weak processes are easy to ignore.
In tighter markets, they’re exposed fast.

The real hedge against a trail book correction isn’t timing the market.
It’s building a continuation process that doesn’t rely on it.

I’m seeing more brokers now re-examining how deliberately they manage client relationships between settlements and reviews — not just at renewal.

Interested to hear how others are approaching this, especially those buying or preparing to sell books.