CAMPBELL, Calif., Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Four years after
widespread subprime mortgage defaults touched off an international
financial crisis, getting a mortgage today is so difficult two out
of three Americans (70.6%) believe access to affordable mortgages
is a serious problem, according to a national survey released today
by MortgageMatch.com.
The survey also found that understanding the mortgage process
and coping with lenders' requirements are the most challenging
aspects of getting a mortgage today. In fact, survey
respondents ranked it more challenging (32.3%) than getting the
mortgage itself (23%) or negotiating the sale price on the home
(25.3%). In addition, three out of four (79%) recent homebuyers,
especially those earning $50,000 a
year or more, report getting a mortgage was as, or more, difficult
than they expected.
According to the MortgageMatch.com survey, today's lending
environment is so confusing many borrowers are experiencing high
levels of stress and frustration accompanied by the potential for
distrust. One in five recent homebuyers (20.9%) said waiting
to hear if they were approved for a mortgage was more stressful
than waiting to hear if they got a job. One in ten borrowers
(10.8%) report their lender gave them a higher interest rate than
what they were originally quoted, and 9.1 percent said their lender
asked for seemingly inappropriate information. Almost twice as many
female buyers (11.7%) as male buyers (6.4%) said they were asked
for inappropriate information.
Adding to the confusion, nearly one-quarter (22.9%) said
applying for a mortgage was challenging because documentation
requirements from their lender kept changing. One in five
borrowers (21.6%) said their lender used too much technical jargon,
and 20.7% said finding a lender that was easy to work with was
challenging. Borrowers considered these particular problems
more challenging than the amount of time it took to fund a loan
(19.1%) or problems they experienced in qualifying due to their
credit rating (6.9%).
In spite of frustrations and confusion, many recent buyers that
participated in the MortgageMatch.com survey said they successfully
secured loans and purchased homes in the past three years.
Most were highly qualified buyers, with just over half
(54.6%) reporting they had FICO scores exceeding 700. More
than two-thirds (67.7%) of the survey respondents that successfully
took out a mortgage said they were able to put down less than 20
percent of the purchase price.
"Over the past few years, a lot of buyers have had a hard time
not only getting a loan but getting through the process," said
Sue Stewart, senior vice president
at Move, Inc., (Nasdaq: MOVE), operator of MortgageMatch.com.
"This survey is a wakeup call and clearly points to the fact
that borrowers want a process that's easy to understand and follow.
They don't want surprises and they want to be able to depend
on their mortgage lender. For most people, the home buying
process isn't about the mortgage – it's about getting a home."
Stewart points out that the survey found strong evidence
confirming first-time buyers will continue to be an important group
in the next 36 months. According to the survey, three out of
five (58.4%) Americans planning to purchase a home in the next
three years identify themselves as first-time buyers, significantly
higher than the current market share of 33 percent (1), and a
twenty-one (21%) increase from a Move, Inc., survey taken in
October, 2009 (2). At the same time, the MortgageMatch.com
survey found first-time home buyers are significantly more
concerned than other buyers about the problems they face in getting
a mortgage today by almost 13 percent. First-time buyers (25.7%)
also said waiting to hear if their mortgage was approved would be
more stressful than waiting to hear if they got a job.
"First-time buyers are critical to the recovery of our real
estate economy and the future of homeownership," Stewart said.
"They're also the group most susceptible to interest rate
bait and switch tactics that could cost an extra $43,559 dollars over the life of a loan for a
$220,000 home (3). That's
significant, and can be avoided if you have access to the right
information and an easy to understand lending process similar to
what we provide at MortgageMatch.com."
Public concern today over mortgage financing also extends to
public policy in 2011, but support for direct government
intervention has softened since the height of the credit crisis in
2008 (4). Americans today say President Obama's top
priorities to help homeowners in 2011 should be to help those in
trouble avoid foreclosure (27%) and to keep interest rates low
(27.9%), down 3.5 percent from October
2009 (5). Only 12.9 percent feel the President's top
priority to help homeowners should be to make more affordable
housing credit available, while 11.4% identified helping first-time
homebuyers buy as a top priority today as compared to 10.4 percent
in October 2009.
Stewart said, "By offering real loans with real rates and real
terms up front, sites like MortgageMatch.com can make vital
contributions to the housing recovery by creating relationships
with borrowers built upon transparency and trust.
MortgageMatch.com is here to help buyers avoid the
traditional pitfalls through a transparent, fast and realistic
process."
About the MortgageMatch.com Survey
This survey is based on interviews conducted January 7 through 9 and 14 through 16, 2011 from
two samples for each week's OmniTel survey conducted by GfK Custom
Research North America. Waves consisted of 1,000 completed
interviews each, and were made up of male and female adults (in
approximately equal number). All survey participants were 18
years of age and over. The margin of error on weighted data is +/-
3%. OmniTel is a weekly national telephone omnibus service of GfK
Custom Research North America. The raw data are weighted by a
custom designed computer program, which automatically develops a
weighting factor for each respondent. This procedure employs five
variables: age, sex, education, race and geographic region. Each
interview is assigned a single weight derived from the relationship
between the actual proportion of the population with its specific
combination of age, sex, education, race and geographic
characteristics and the proportion in our sample that week. Tabular
results show both weighted and unweighted bases for these
demographic variables.
MortgageMatch.com was developed to give first-time buyers
and refinancing owners the tools they need to find and prequalify
for the right loan in as little as 10 minutes.
MortgageMatch.com leverages the first online consumer-facing
decision and pricing engine designed specifically to empower buyers
to explore their mortgage options in real time with real loan
products backed by real rates using a multitude of scenarios that
reflect their situation.
ABOUT MORTGAGEMATCH.COM
MortgageMatch.com is operated by Move, Inc. (Nasdaq: MOVE).
Through a partnership with a national mortgage banker (d/b/a
Mortgage Match), a variety of quality loan products are offered to
home buyers interested in financing the purchase of a property or
current homeowners interested in refinancing their current
mortgage. Consumers can access such products at
www.mortgagematch.com.
ABOUT MOVE, INC.
Move, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOVE) is the leader in online real estate
with 12.1 million (6) monthly visitors to its online network of
websites. Move, Inc. operates: Move.com, a leading destination for
information on new homes and rental listings, moving, home and
garden and home finance; REALTOR.com®, the official website of the
National Association of REALTORS®; MortgageMatch.com, Moving.com;
SeniorHousingNet; ListHub; and TOP PRODUCER Systems. Move, Inc. is
based in Campbell, California.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements,
including information about management's view of Move's future
expectations, plans and prospects, within the safe harbor
provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the results of
Move, its subsidiaries, divisions and concepts to be materially
different than those expressed or implied in such statements. These
risk factors and others are included from time to time in documents
Move files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including
but not limited to, its Form 10-Ks, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks. Other
unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse
effects on Move's future results. The forward-looking statements
included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof.
Move cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Finally, Move
expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update any
forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances.
(1) December 2010 Existing Home Sales Release, National
Association of Realtors.
(2) Survey on Homeownership Issues by GfK Custom Research
North America, October 10-11,
2008.
(3) 30 yr fix rate, $198,000
purchase price at 5%, 10% down payment = $1124.22 principal / interest monthly payment vs
4.5% rate with payment of $1003,23
monthly payment
(4) Move, Inc., GfK Survey Results - 70.6% Jan 2011 vs 81.6 percent Oct 2008
(5) Home Buyer/Foreclosure Study by GfK Custom, Research
North America, October 16-18,
2009.
(6) comScore Media Metrix, December
2010.
SOURCE Move, Inc.