The internet is designed to give people what they want. It’s an engine of convenience. It makes human desires more easily attainable, basically achieved by two things: speed, and cognitive ease.
In other words, consumers don’t want to wait, and they don’t want to think — and the mortgage origination process should respond to that. Successful internet companies are masters at making things fast, removing outdated steps and not making people think.
In this new market the successful originator will use modern technology to take out the cumbersome steps of obtaining an interest rate, applying, and closing a mortgage loan.
Based on a recent industry survey, 93% of consumers who applied online used the Internet to gather information on mortgage/home equity products. Not only did 93% of those who applied online report they had done research online, so did 71% of those who applied by telephone and 60% of those who had applied in person.
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Of the consumers who applied online, 59% reported using an aggregator web site to solicit rate quotes and help select their lender.
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Given the widespread growing use of the Internet to research mortgage products, it appears that most lenders have failed to take full advantage of this channel to turn these prospects into applicants – eliminating the disconnect and capturing the consumer at the decision point.