TheMReport

MReport May 2019

TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.

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8 | TH E M R EP O RT In the Minds of Lenders and Buyers Exploring what consumers are thinking and where real estate professionals see competition taking them. 1 In Literary Pursuit A study by Zillow indicated that there was a huge gap in perceived access to education between home- owners of bottom-tier neighborhoods (where median home values were in the lower third of all neighborhoods) and top-tier neighborhoods (where the median home values were in the highest third). Less than 40 percent of people in bottom-tier neighborhoods said they had relatively good access to high-quality education, compared with nearly 70 percent in top-tier neighborhoods. 2 The Convenience Factor Data from Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey has revealed that less than half of Americans are "very likely" to recommend their primary bank or institution to their family and friends, and most remain customers due to convenience and trust rather than their bank's speed, rates, or online interface. 3 Balancing Act According to TransUnion's Industry Insights, in the top 20 met- ropolitan statistical areas, loans with an average new mortgage account balance of over $300,000 saw a de- cline of 10 percent in year-over-year originations during Q4 2018. 4 What Lenders Want In a STRATMOR survey, lenders cited product selection advice, timely communication, closing at the expected rates and fees, and closing on time as some of the features critical to creating seamless lending experiences. 5 Affordability Gets a Boost Black Knight data has revealed that in the current mortgage rate environment, it takes 22.2 percent of the median household income to make monthly principal and interest payments on the average-priced home purchase (assuming a 20 percent down payment and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage). 6 What Moves You A survey by the National Association of Home Builders found that 55 percent of recent homebuyers had moved primarily to secure a "better home," followed by 46 percent who moved for better neighborhoods and 39 percent who moved to form a new household. 7 Phoenix Rises Phoenix, Arizona, recorded the highest year-over-year rent price increase across the country according to CoreLogic's Single-Family Rental Index. The data also indicated that low-end rent prices were up by 3.7 percent, compared to high-end price gains of 2.9 percent. 8 Dropping the Ball Hartford, Connecticut; Chicago; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Baltimore are the only metros where median prices have fallen nearly $6,700 since 2009, according to a LendingTree study. 9 Living With Regret? According to a Bankrate.com survey, 44 percent of homeowners regret their home purchase, while 56 percent are happy with their home. Unexpected maintenance or hidden costs are the most common factors homeowners cite as leading them to regret their purchase. 10 Keeping up With the Competition The National Association of Realtors' 2019 Profile of Real Estate Firms sur- vey indicated that 44 percent of real estate firms expected competition from virtual firms to increase in 2020, while 43 percent believed that most of the competition would come from non-traditional market participants. INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

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