03/20

With technology comes great responsibility – responsibility with keeping the communication lines open between actual people, of course.

The 2019 Borrower Insights Survey from Ellie Mae shows that even though clients are expecting service to be performed online, they’re still wanting more communication throughout the loan origination process – probably because loans can be intimidating and confusing.

50% of borrowers said they chose their lender based on whether or not there was an online application or portal. 47% made their decision after seeing an online portal for uploading documents. A vast majority of survey recipients wanted lenders to have electronic options available.

The top three reasons for wanting an online portal included a faster closing (66%), an easy-to-understand application form (61%), and information that would be readily available (54%).

While online portals are important for clients, they’re still wanting access to various options for communicating throughout the process. Having direct communication can be incredibly important to younger borrowers and first-time mortgage applicants – as it is their first time entering the real estate market journey.

Joe Tyrell, Executive Vice President of Technology and Corporate Strategy for Ellie Mae, noted that because “borrowers use an average of more than five different methods of communication throughout the origination process,” it’s important that each lender utilize and incorporate various approaches for each borrower to fit each individual’s needs.

As the real estate market heads into spring 2019, we’ll have to keep an eye on how lenders are accommodating consumers.