A new report from Zillow has revealed that understanding mortgages is a struggle for most homebuyers, but 55% of buyers also lean on their agents to make sense of their financing options.
Get the Lowest Interest Rate, Fees, and Fastest Service
YouTube – Straight Talk Lending – Daniel Dobbs
Another Zillow survey found 86% of sellers prefer a buyer who has been pre-approved (fully approved) instead of pre-qualified, for a loan.
Why Pre-Approval Letters Are Worthless!
Using Loan Officers to Screen Buyers & Close Deals
Pre-approval includes the full financial history (including income, assets, debts, and credit score) that are requested during pre-qualification, and also requires documentation to support the info provided and a credit check.
Zillow: Why Most Buyers Rely on Agents for Loan Info
The report is based on a Dec. 2022 survey of 665 successful buyers and 1,908 prospective buyers.
Are Your Buyers Serious? Or Just Working You?
The May 22nd report, on May 22nd, specifically shows 55% of all successful buyers (COE) turn to their agents or brokers for info regarding home financing.
11 Reasons Why Loans Close Late
First-time buyers turn to agents in even greater numbers, with 58% saying they go to agents for information. Among repeat buyers, it’s 53%.
By comparison, only about a third of all buyers turn to financial institutions such as banks for mortgage education, and fewer than a third rely on websites. Just 29 % rely on friends to help make sense of their mortgage options.
40 Reasons Why Applicants Get Denied
That means agents are overwhelmingly the most popular way for real estate consumers to learn about their financing choices.
Zillow’s new report also shows that mortgages tend to be a point of stress for consumers.
For example, a majority, or 56%, ranked understanding the costs associated with their mortgage as among the three most difficult financial issues to make sense of during their homebuying journey.
Here are the top three reasons why, according to the survey:
- 30% were worried shopping would hurt their credit score
- 24% were happy with the lender they contacted first
- 19% didn’t want to spend time shopping for mortgages
Only 13% of respondents said that they spent a month researching mortgage lenders before they applied, the survey said.
