Tech may not be enough in the primary mortgage business. Overall customer satisfaction with primary mortgage originators has improved throughout most of 2019 but dropped off significantly in the second quarter as loan origination volume surged by 54% over the previous quarter, according to the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study.
“Mortgage originators have been consistently transforming their businesses by adding self-service technology tools and reducing customer-facing staff, but when put to the test by an unexpected surge in refinancing volume, this approach fell short of customer expectations,” said John Cabell, director of wealth and lending intelligence at J.D. Power.
“It is critical that originators get the balance right between tech and staffing to be able to deal with the swings in loan volume that can dramatically change from month to month.”
Overall customer satisfaction is up 14 points (on a 1,000-point scale from 2018), but fell from 869 in the first quarter to 853 in the second quarter, with a higher decline among customers buying a home than among those refinancing. Overall satisfaction scores are 140 points higher, on average, when mortgage customers are provided — and use — real-time access to the status of their loan via an online portal than when no such access is provided.
Quicken Loans ranked highest in mortgage origination satisfaction for a 10th consecutive year, achieving a score of 880. Fairway Independent (865) ranked second and Guild Mortgage Company (864) ranked third.
Even so, the human touch remains important in terms of origination. The bulk of customer interaction still occurs by email (70% utilization rate) and phone (63% utilization rate). Just 15% of customers indicate using their mortgage originator’s mobile app.
The 2019 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study measures overall customer satisfaction based on performance in four factors (in alphabetical order): application/approval process; communication; loan closing; and loan offerings. The study was fielded in July-August 2019 and is based on responses from 4,602 customers who originated a new mortgage or refinanced within the past 12 months.