Buyer survey: online, mobile tools on the rise in mortgage shopping

Top tools for mortgage shopping

Mortgage shopping has changed, for the better. Home buyers are using more online and mobile tools in their quest for a mortgage today. And according to a recent survey from Fannie Mae, they hope to use even more in the future.

Mining for mortgage data

According to the recent National Housing Survey by Fannie Mae, home

buyers are using a combination of sources when looking for mortgage information. The survey’s list of most-used resources includes real estate agents, online sources, family, friends and lenders.

Fannie’s survey, which polled home buyers from the first quarter of the year, looked at the mortgage shopping habits of today’s marketplace.

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Agents were the top source of information for recent buyers, with 77 percent saying they used one for info when shopping for a mortgage. Two-thirds also said they sought information directly from lenders, while 69 percent said they used online sources, including Realtor.com, credit management sites and social media.

Online sources were most popular with buyers 18 to 34 and 45 to 64. Nearly half of all buyers said they used online sources out of convenience. Twenty-two percent said because of their “usefulness,” and another 12 percent said they were “easy to understand.”

The rise of the mobile mortgage

Fannie’s survey also revealed a rise in mobile usage during the mortgage shopping process. In Q1 2015, just 29 percent of buyers performed a mortgage activity on their mobile device. This year, 65 percent say they have — and 73 percent hope to do so in the future.

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“Recent home buyers are almost twice as likely to want to use mobile devices in the future for mortgage shopping,” Fannie Mae reported.

Specifically, they want to compare mortgage quotes, obtain a mortgage quote, fill out a mortgage application, submit documents to their lender and look for advice about getting a mortgage via their mobile phones.

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