CHERRY HILL, N.J., April 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- American
home-buying experiences are improving, according to TD Bank's
fourth annual Mortgage Service Index. A whopping 71 percent of
homeowners rated their most recent buying experience as "very good"
or "excellent," up almost 10 percent in the past two years, despite
a more time consuming mortgage process.
The Mortgage Service Index polled more than 1,300 American
homeowners, who took out a home mortgage during the last 10 years
and asked about their experience including, what factors helped
them purchase a home.
The findings revealed that, even with new loan and closing
disclosures forms, home buyer experiences are improving, and
homeowners are leveraging creative ways to finance their home
purchases.
Home Buying Sentiment
While sentiment is on the rise,
significant stress factors remain.
- According to the survey the most positive aspects of the home
purchase include getting approved for a mortgage, finding a good
realtor, and finding the right lender.
- Forty-two percent of Americans expect the housing market to
improve over the next six months, while 56 percent felt it's a
"good" time to buy a home.
- One in five consumers were "extremely likely" to purchase a new
home in the next year, especially Millennials (38 percent).
- Thirty-four percent of Americans had an "excellent" experience
with their lender, up from 28 percent in 2015; however, nearly
one-third (32 percent) reported their home purchase was "very to
extremely stressful".
Positive Home Buying Experience, But There's Room for
Improvement
Year-over-year, homeowners are relying more on
their lenders' expertise, but there's still room for
improvement.
- More than half of respondents rated their lender as "excellent"
or "very good" in responsiveness, mortgage rate and terms, honesty
and transparency, accessibility, and keeping them informed.
- The top three areas that mortgage banks needed to improve on
include adding more information online, training frontline staff
and offering home financing seminars or workshops.
- Twice as many consumers said their Mortgage Loan Officer was
their most valuable resource during the home-buying process than in
2015.
- Millennials said the best way banks could educate them on the
mortgage process was to add more online information and resources.
(67 percent).
- Sixty-two percent of respondents spent close to $2,000 in unexpected costs during the mortgage
process, while almost half of Millennials incurred up to
$5,000 in unexpected costs.
"Our data demonstrates that home buying sentiment is improving,
but lenders still need to adopt a more omnichannel approach to
providing financial guidance and expertise," said Kevin Gillen, senior vice president of Mortgage
at TD Bank. "Consumers should find a lender who can educate and
support them on all aspects of the mortgage process. By
understanding the process they will enjoy a more positive
home-buying experience."
Homeowners Leveraged Unconventional Strategies during the
Mortgage Process
New resources and lending options such as
first-time home buyer loans and affordability programs allowed
buyers to make down-payments of less than 20 percent.
- The number of home buyers who researched their lenders through
social media doubled over the last two years, up to 14 percent in
2016.
- Over half of those surveyed put down less than 20 percent when
purchasing their first home.
- Thirty-two percent of respondents financed their home with a
mortgage affordability program, including 56 percent of
Millennials.
- Almost a quarter of Americans share a mortgage with someone
other than a spouse (42 percent, among Millennials.
- Twenty-six percent of homeowners purchased a home with their
significant other before marriage.
"With today's increasing home prices and the anticipated rise in
interest rates, choosing a first-time mortgage or affordability
program can be a great way for consumers to enter the housing
market," said Gillen. "TD Bank continues to make financing more
manageable by offering flexible loan options to buyers at all
income levels. Buyers embarking on homeownership should understand
that finding a lender that provides ongoing communication and
diverse loan options is critical to a smooth, low-stress home
purchase."
Additional highlights from the TD Bank Mortgage Service Index
are available at: https://mediaroom.tdbank.com/msi2016.
Survey Methodology
The study was conducted among a
nationally representative group of consumers from March 23 – April 1,
2016. The sample size of 1,305 has a margin of error of +/-
2.7 percent. Data has been weighted by age, gender and region to
reflect the populations. The survey was hosted by research company
MARU/VCR&C.
About MARU
MARU/VCR&C, formerly the Research &
Consulting division of Vision Critical, is a professional services
firm dedicated to improving its client's business outcomes. We
deliver our services through teams of sector-specific research
consultants that have technology in their DNA, specializing in the
use of Insight Community and Voice of Market technology. Our
research drives decision making across all aspects of customer
experience, including innovation, product, branding,
commercialization and communications.
About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient
Bank®
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is
one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 8
million customers with a full range of retail, small business and
commercial banking products and services at approximately 1,300
convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro
D.C., the Carolinas and Florida.
In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private
banking and wealth management services through TD
Wealth®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial
services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in
Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more,
visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank
Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services
company in North America. The
Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New
York and Toronto stock
exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit
www.td.com.
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