Overall satisfaction for mortgage customers has increased over the last year as more lenders have focused on developing better digital channels and improving their operational efficiency as a whole. Even though there is an overall increase in satisfaction, mortgage lenders are still facing increased pressure to comply with new loan disclosure regulations that could increase the time it takes for home owners to get a home loan.
Lenders are also facing higher competition from nontraditional lenders as expressed in the JD Power 2015 US Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. The study looks at consumer satisfaction with a mortgage origination experience in six different factors like loan closing interaction, the application and approval process, on-boarding, loan offerings and problem resolution.
Overall satisfaction is calculated on a 1000 point scale. Customer service satisfaction with mortgage origination reached an average of 793 in 2015 and an increase of 7 points over 2014.
The study also found that overall satisfaction with mortgage application related activities is up. The links in this particular situation are made between mortgage processing speed and efficiency and the overall customer service satisfaction. These are particularly noteworthy in light of the fact that mortgage lenders recently had to comply with the TRID regulations to give additional information in the disclosure process.
Many lenders had to develop comprehensive changes in their strategy to incorporate TRID regulations in order to comply with government rules about letting home owners know of particular issues associated with their loan. Other key findings in this year’s study were that millennials are accounting for the biggest share of loan originations in the last two years, that communication with the lender influences satisfaction, that effective loan representatives are essential, that loans are closing sooner than expected, and that a satisfying experience leads to recommendations and customer loyalty.
Now that lenders have seen their own ability to take massive compliance-related changes and adapt it into a busy working environment, the focus can shift back to customer service and better efficiency. Over the past decade or so, the lending industry has shown a commitment towards adapting, even when the roadblocks ahead seemed like big ones. It looks like in 2016 lenders are poised to capitalize on this flexibility.
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