The secondary market is also called the secondary mortgage market and it provides a way for a lender to sell a loan.  It also permits investment in real estate loans without the need for loan origination and servicing facilities.  The secondary market plays an important role in bringing together those who want to borrow money and investors who want to lend money for a profit.  It could be described as a pipeline for loan money. 

The primary or traditional system is composed by lenders or local institutions gathering deposits from the community and then lending that money as real estate loans in the same community.