Survey: Consumers Not Shopping for Mortgages

Consumers are taking less time to research their mortgage loan than they do for buying a car, a survey conducted for Zillow Mortgage Marketplace found. The five hours a consumer typically spends to research a mortgage loan is the same as the last time this survey was conducted two years ago. Nearly one-third of the respondents spent two hours or less researching a mortgage. On the other hand, they spend 10 hours researching what car they are looking to buy, four hours researching the computer they are looking to buy and five hours on where they want to go on vacation. The survey also found that consumers who got a mortgage in the last five years are soliciting an average of three quotes; in 2008, there was an average of four quotes solicited. Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries said he was surprised consumers do not spend more time shopping for a mortgage now than they did two years ago, especially in light of the foreclosure crisis. "In an area like mortgages, where the lender has so much more information than the typical borrower, getting multiple offers from lenders and being able to compare them relative to one another is critical to leveling the playing field."