TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1187758
M R EP O RT | 35 O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST ORIGINATION Mortgage Originator Customer Satisfaction Falls Quicken Loans ranked highest for the 10th consecutive year. J .D. Power's 2019 U.S. Pri- mary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study revealed the industry's issues with maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction through swings of the credit cycle is vital to understanding challenges facing mortgage lenders. The poll uses a 1,000-point scale, and mortgage originators came in at 853 during Q2 2019, which is down from 869 during the first quarter. "Mortgage originators have been consistently transforming their businesses by adding self-service technology tools and reducing customer-facing staff, but when put to the test by an unexpected surge in refinancing volume, this approach fell short of customer expectations," said John Cabell, Director of Wealth and Lending Intelligence at J.D. Power. "It is critical that originators get the balance right between tech and staffing to be able to deal with the swings in loan volume that can dramatically change from month- to-month." The decline in satisfaction oc- curred during the same period that the total mortgage origination growth rate rose 54% from the prior quarter. The survey states that 70% of the customers' interaction is through email, 63% of interaction is done through a phone, and just 15% of customers say they use their mortgage originator's mobile app. Additionally, 63% of all mortgage customers choose to refinance their loan for more favorable terms. Of the 37% look- ing to consolidate debt or cash out equity, nearly half considered other product options such as home equity loans and personal lines of credit. Overall satisfaction scores, though, are 140 points higher on average when customers are pro- vided, and use, real-time access to the status of their loan through an online portal than when no access is provided. J.D. Power rated Quicken Loans as the highest-ranking mortgage originator with an over- all satisfaction score of 880. It is the 10th consecutive year Quicken Loans had the highest overall satisfaction. Fairway Independent was a close second at 865. J.D. Power conducted the study from July to August 2019 and uses responses from 4,602 customers who originated a mortgage or refinanced in the past year.