Who else can better give us data on homebuyer sentiment than tech giant Google? As the most preferred search engine among internet users worldwide, the company is most poised to hold information on just what majority of homebuyers enter into their search bars when looking for a home.
This is exactly the genius idea that Chase Home Lending had. So they partnered with Google to get information on homeownership.
A top concern
In the much-anticipated report, the data showed just what homebuyers are most concerned about: affordability. In 2016, 34 percent more searches were made on the question of affordability than the year prior. In fact, the top three most searched questions on Google regarding homeownership revolves around this interest.
“How much mortgage can I afford?” is the top mortgage-related question in the past two years. This is followed by “How much mortgage can I qualify for?” and “What mortgage can I afford?”
Report findings
One of the most significant findings of the research is the stepping up of millennials and many first-time homebuyers into the homeownership process. Forty-four percent (44%) of mortgage-related searches in 2017 were coming from first-time buyers, up by a margin of 11 percent in 2016. Even Chase’s data supports this fact. Most of their customers for new mortgage originations who are aged 34 and below increased by 36 percent from last year.
Mobile searches have also increased as more people rely on their mobile devices to get mortgage-related information.
Buyers from the Southern part of the country has shown more mortgage-related research activity. They made up 37 percent of the total share of mortgage-related searches with the west taking 26 percent of the share. Nineteen percent (19%) are from the Northeast while only 18 percent are from the Midwest.
And lastly, fixed-rate mortgages are still the most preferred mortgage types among homebuyers.
This current data on homebuyer sentiment can aid many lenders and legislators in making appropriate moves to provide many homebuyers the needed opportunities to fulfill their American dreams.
