Understanding home loan shopping trends gives a company a large advantage in the marketing department. One of the best ways to improve a company is to see how your customers operate. Taking a walk in their shoes can allow you to further understand what potential clients want and need from you. This is a particularly important perspective to get ahold of for those in the home loan lending industry. The pandemic has made 2020 a very long year with far too many twists and turns. As a result, the mortgage market has seen recent trends in the field skyrocket into the expected process of obtaining a home loan. Specifically speaking, the digital aspects of searching and applying for purchase and refinance loans. As stated by RocketMortgage, 50% of all buyers found their home through online sources. Regardless of whether or not the internet has been their first source for finding a home, it’s obvious that digital convenience plays a large role in the process of applying for mortgage loans.

Processing Loans Online

Some buyers are more inclined to have as little contact in person as possible. Electronic convenience has made strides in multiple fields of work over time, allowing multiple services, from food orders to buying houses, to be completed from the palm of your hand. The pandemic and social distancing has also, understandably, been a factor into increasing the amount of buyers who feel this way. Fannie Mae reports that 66% of homebuyers would prefer to handle their mortgages entirely online. With customers who prefer a more remote approach, it becomes fundamental to have a strong online presence. A company can easily achieve this by using a stable website, such as the ones hosted by WebMax through MortgageWare, that offers all the features that a client needs to move the process along. It is also a necessity for a website to be 100% mobile responsive. Many viewers are using cell phones and tablets. Catering to them can be extremely beneficial.

Researching Online Using Keywords

In addition to having an online home base for your company, taking a look at your SEO is a good way to gain more traction for internet traffic. This is also a step that often gets overlooked when setting up a website or social media. TheMortgageReports state that 92% of new mortgage borrowers do online research before speaking to a lender. We’ve written an article on the basics of SEO that you can read here. Looking into keyword analytics is a great place to start when researching what keywords to use in your content and tags. Kasasa notes that “mortgage calculators” come up as a frequently searched term when researching what homes they can afford. Having mortgage calculators on a website is a great way to direct that traffic to the rest of the site. MortgageWare also provide mortgage calculators for websites, making this an easy boost for company websites.

Getting Pre-Qualified And Applying Online

Another popular opinion of those looking to apply for a loan is that many borrowers prefer to get pre-qualified online. Having a pre-qualification application allows the borrower to further understand how much they can afford. Having a page including one is very beneficial to not only your SEO, but also your company as a whole. Borrowers are more likely to apply for a loan with the same company they filled a pre-qualification app with. Luckily, MortgageWare has you covered with an easy-to-use pre-qualification Application. WebMax also offers a digital Point of Sale application named START. START makes the online application  process simple and quick by using a multitude of features including smart data entry elimination.

Overall, many home loan buying trends have been internet-centered within the past year. Online mortgage loans and digital home loan practices are expected to continue growing in popularity during 2021. Remember to strengthen your online presence in order to gain a better following online for your company and visit our products page to learn how our products can help companies enhance the online experience for lenders and borrowers alike.