Survey: Mortgage Hurdles Least of Consumer Concerns

Authors: Tory Barringer January 21, 2014 0

As analysts continue to watch market indicators for trends that might hamper the borrowing experience, a recent poll shows that borrowers themselves are more focused on customer service problems.
The poll, conducted by real estate search engine Qazzoo.com, asked new homebuyers which aspect of the experience they found the most frustrating. Available answers covered the entire purchase timeline, starting with reaching out to a real estate agent and concluding with the loan application process.
According to the company, the most common source of aggravation cited by respondents was "lack of timely follow up by the real estate agent," an answer that garnered 42 percent of responses.
The next most popular answer was also service-related: "being shown homes that don't meet your needs" (36 percent).
The other three options, all market-related, came up in fewer responses, with 11 percent of consumers complaining about a "lack of real estate inventory," 5 percent citing problems "understanding the mortgage options available," and 4 percent pointing to "difficulty in qualifying for a mortgage."
Two percent of consumers responded with issues falling into the "other" category.
Michael Urbanski, CEO of Qazzoo.com, said the idea behind the survey choices was to "illustrate what can and cannot be controlled by the real estate professional." For example, while interest rates and loan programs are beyond an agent's control, timely follow up is not.
"Surprisingly, the single largest issue and therefore the most likely bottle necks occur in the service category. This could be because the answers that relate to the market are not likely to become bottlenecks unless the first two issues have been overcome," Urbanski said.
"However, the first two answers are also the easiest to overcome as the local real estate agent does have some control over timely follow up and showing the homes that meet the home buyer's desires."