The mortgage craze is on for hundreds of thousands of young Americans who are looking into real estate purchase options online, 24 hours a day, and every day of the week, including working hours.
A MortgageMarvel.com analysis of 650,000 mortgage applications filed with 1,100 U.S. lending institutions across the country in 2012 shows buyers are taking advantage of technology to apply for mortgages at all times.
Up to 60% of these
Customer behavior continues to change, says Rick Allen, chief operating officer of Mortgage Marvel a subsidiary of mortgage lending technology provider D+H Mortgagebot. “You might think that people would complete their online mortgage applications during the weekend,” but when applying for a new purchase mortgage loan or refinancing their home, 2012 data show certain new trends are taking hold.
Americans ages 18 to 34, often referred to as millennials, are among the most active and interested to buy a home this year.
A recent PulteGroup Home Index survey found that over half are renters within that age group. Millennials said their intention to buy a home has increased during 2012 and 2013 in part because of “increasing rental costs and scarcity of desirable rental options,” the national homebuilder reported earlier this month.
“The propensity of young adults to test the waters of homeownership continues to increase,” said Deborah Wahl, PulteGroup Inc., SVP and chief marketing officer, plus more than half of millennials see ownership and building equity as “the primary reason for purchasing a new home.”
MortgageMarvel.com warns, however, that there are some gender differences in how buyers approach housing.
According to a Harris Interactive survey, 41% of the total—of which 46% men and 36% women—reported they are interested in homeownership.
Men tend to be more aggressive in their housing pursuits and are twice as likely to look for a home despite poor finances.
Gender differences “are even more pronounced” among men and women aged 18-34 years old with 17% of men and 6% of women would consider homeownership even though they see their finances as shaky.
As a rule mortgage applicants are employed, so they're spending their lunch hour, or other time during their workday on their mortgage application. Over half, however, or 62% of online applicants, said they completed their application in only one session.
It helps that the online application process is simple and takes about 30 minutes to complete, Allen said. Applicants may return to the site only if they have to file specific additional information, such as income from a previous job, and “complete an application on their schedule and at their pace.”
This trend is driven by the new TV and mobile phone culture as much as by necessity.
“There are just some things that can't be done after regular work hours, like talking to teachers, reaching doctors’ offices or conducting banking,” said Kelly Walsh, a human resources consultant that owns 1 Smart Life, a personal coaching firm.
In her view, smart employers may trade “a little time to take care of a few personal things during the work day” with staff loyalty, and appreciate those employees who for instance, work late hours or answer emails from home in the evening.
Whether employers agree with Walsh or not, according to Allen, “the number of online applications continues to grow.”
