A Study of Online Florida Home Loans, Buyers

The use of Internet chats and the prevalence of online Florida home loans are strong in the hearing impaired community. A recent study, however, reveals more information from the mortgage world of the Web.

Compete and Forrester Research partnered on the reported, titled “Online Mortgage Shoppers’ Paths To Purchase: Navigational And Survey Data Uncovers How Prospects Use Sites.” It revealed that consumers who applied online for a Florida home loan - or any home loan - were more likely to have used search and product selector tools than prospects who didn’t apply.

“We found that in an average month, 9.4 million consumers are shopping across the studied sites,” said Mike Bailey, managing director of Compete’s financial services practice. “There are more than one million consumers who research online and apply online or offline, and represent $450 million in business opportunity each month. In order to take advantage of this trend, mortgage sites must seek ways to make it easier to apply online.”

Additional key findings from the study include the following:

- Consumers said that the most important element when choosing a Florida home loan lender is information on rates and fees. More than three-fourths of researchers went online for rate information, at least twice as many as for any other piece of information.

- Many potential buyers go offline to apply via the phone or in person; however, 37 percent of applicants apply online or submit a Florida home loan lead form via the Internet. Aggregators receive 75 percent of the applications submitted online each month.

– As the largest segment, Baby Boomers comprise more than 40 percent of prospects and applicants. Although seniors make up 16 percent of all prospects, they comprise only 10 percent of applicants.

“Lenders looking to attract and convert more lending prospects should evaluate how they use search, offer easy access to rates and fees, and provide selection tools for choosing the right mortgage,” said Brad Strothkamp, senior analyst at Forrester Research.

It’s true. In order to reel in more Florida mortgage loan applicants, realtors are becoming far more innovative.