Less Than Half of Consumers Feel Confident About Mortgage Process, Survey Shows

July 16, 2024

Most consumers believe homeownership remains important and consider it a future goal, but only 19% feel now is a good time to purchase a home compared to 62% in 2018, according to Fannie Mae’s Mortgage Understanding Survey.

For those currently renting, 21% are working on preparing themselves financially for future homeownership (an increase of 5% from 2018).

Notwithstanding financial uncertainties and the impact of increased costs and rates, 74% say they will purchase a home on their next move, and 25% are actively looking to purchase in the next three years.

Consumer Understanding

The survey of 338 adults showed consumer understanding of the mortgage process and requirements, as well as confidence navigating the process, remains mostly unchanged since 2018. Only 45% of those surveyed would feel confident going through the mortgage process, according to Fannie Mae. This is on par with 2018 confidence levels. Active shoppers (those looking to purchase in the next three years) show lower levels of confidence (38%).

Most Important Reason for Difficulty Getting a Mortgage

The top reason consumers believe they would have difficulty getting a mortgage is insufficient income to afford monthly payments (24%), the survey showed. The next top two reasons are too much existing debt (16%) and insufficient credit score or history (16%). Only 14% of those surveyed say affording the down payment or closing costs make getting a mortgage difficult.

While online resources are frequently used, the survey showed consumers still consider real estate professionals—especially lenders—to be the most influential resource for information about the mortgage process.

Information Sources Used Most Often
  • Online websites: 50%
  • Lenders: 48%
  • Realtors/real estate agents: 40%
  • Family and friends: 35%
  • Mass media: 32%
  • Social media: 24%
Most Influential Resources
  • Lenders: 29%
  • Family and friends: 18%
  • Realtors/real estate agents: 15%
  • Financial planners and financial advisors: 15%
  • Online websites: 10%
  • Social media: 3%
Education Resources
  • The results highlight that there is ample opportunity to educate consumers about the homebuying and closing process. ALTA members have access to a host of resources to educate consumers, many of which can be branded with company information.
  • Additionally, to help members communicate with homebuyers who may not speak English, ALTA has translated its most popular consumer marketing materials into multiple languages. Seven flyers, rack cards and blogs have been translated into 12 different languages. The translated files can be branded with an ALTA member’s logo and downloaded to print or shared digitally.
  • HomeClosing101.org: ALTA members may link to this website to educate homebuyers about title insurance and the closing process, and to generate new business. ALTA members are displayed in the “Find a Company to Help You” Search Directory.


Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or [email protected].