Mortgage customer satisfaction: best mortgage lenders

What do mortgage borrowers want?

In recent years, researchers at marketing firms, universities and government agencies have performed many surveys on mortgage borrower behavior. In almost all cases, the interest rate, payment and closing costs the most important factors.

But in addition to good rates, other matters impact the mortgage experience — service, ease of application, and communication, for instance. And the best mortgage lenders offer this.

What makes borrowers satisfied?

JD Power says that trust in the lender is a big deal. The top factors influencing this trust were:

• Loan officers who return calls when promised
• Being able to work with the same loan officer throughout the process
• Lenders updating borrowers without having to be contacted

Your best mortgage bank might not be a bank

If you’re looking for a satisfying mortgage process, you may want to look to Quicken Loans (at the top for eight years running), Guild Mortgage Company or PrimeLending. According to J.D. Power’s recent Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study, these lenders had the most satisfied customers.

A tie at the top

J.D. Power recently surveyed more than 5,000 recent mortgage applicants on their overall satisfaction with the mortgage process. The survey took into account loan offerings, the application/approval process, personal interactions, the closing process, problem resolution and more.

Best mortgage lenders: hiding in plain sight

Though Quicken Loans secured the top spot on the list with a high score of 878, it wasn’t the only one delivering serious customer service. Guild Mortgage Company also came in with a score of 878, tying it with the eight-time champion.

Hot on their heels was PrimeLending, which scored 859. Regions Mortgage and Fairway Independent Mortgage claimed the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, with scores of 837 and 836, respectively.

Mortgage customer satisfaction on the decline

However, not all buyers are happy with their mortgage experiences. According to the study, satisfaction is actually down across the board.

“Overall satisfaction with mortgage originators has declined this year, due in part to a perception of a slower process, despite a significant increase in the number of customers applying online,” J.D. Power reported.

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Craig Martin, director of mortgage practice at J.D. Power, attributes this decline to a growing use of technology.

“We’re at a critical inflection point in the mortgage industry where new technology and the growing use of digital mortgage application channels has made it possible for the origination process to move more quickly; however, the customer is still the final judge of speed and quality,” Martin said.

“A critical element of satisfaction is setting expectations, and this tends to be a weakness of technology, which is demonstrated by substantially lower satisfaction among customers who do not work with a human to complete their application.”

Get today’s rates

Today’s mortgage rates are at historical lows. With mortgage rates and pricing still being most important to borrowers, it makes sense to get rates from the nation’s top lenders now.