SAN FRANCISCO, March 15, 2022 - Qualia, the leading digital real estate closing platform, today announced the release of its latest Homebuyer Sentiment Index. The results showed homebuyers in certain cases may value a well-coordinated closing experience more than lower lender fees.

The survey, conducted by an independent third-party research firm, Savanta Research, polled more than 1,000 recent and future homebuyers to track how homebuyer expectations have evolved since its last survey in the summer of 2021. The survey revealed key differences between why borrowers first choose their lender, and what they value when choosing to work with them again.

For future borrowers, low rates (49%) unsurprisingly remain the top factor for choosing a mortgage lender. But among recent borrowers, efficiency in the closing process tends to outweigh fees. When asked for the top factors they'd use when considering whether to work with a lender again, borrowers led with "quick response times" (42%) and "how well they helped me through the closing" (42%), slightly ahead of both "on-time closing" (35%) and "how much they charged for fees" (35%).

"Borrowers are expecting the entire purchasing journey to be one cohesive process managed by a united team of professionals," said Brian Thome, Vice President of Customer Success at Qualia. "Support from lenders during the closing process greatly impacts whether borrowers return to them again. There is a huge opportunity for lenders to connect better with their partners to improve those borrower experiences."

Amid significant inflation in the U.S. economy, the survey also found mixed results on the impact of home purchase decisions. Consumers appear slightly more inclined to purchase in light of inflation. Four out of 10 of respondents said inflation would have no impact on their decision to purchase a home. For those that did express that it would impact their decision, it was slightly weighted towards more likely to purchase (24% said inflation would make a purchase less likely, while 36% suggested it would in fact make them more likely to purchase). "Needing more space" remained the top reason that recent homebuyers made a purchase, followed by wanting to avoid paying rent.

"The mixed impact of inflation seems to be telling us that it's not swinging purchase behavior in any one clear direction," says Thome. "The data is much more clear, however, on what consumers are valuing when making those purchases as costs rise: a simpler way to buy and sell homes."

Insights from the survey also revealed:

• Homebuyers who heard back quickly from their contact when they asked questions were far more satisfied with the process: 85% of those whose questions were answered immediately ranked their experience as "very good" or "excellent", compared with only 53% of those who took two or more days for responses during the closing.
• In what is likely a very frustrating experience in the age of one-click e-commerce, nearly one-quarter (24%) of respondents also said they were required to submit the same information multiple times during the mortgage process.
• Unlike other aspects of the home-buying process, the closing involves nearly every participant in the transaction working together: lenders, real estate agents, title and escrow agents working in sync. Regardless, homebuyers tend to still seek to remain with their original, single point of contact to centralize their experience, with 67% relying primarily on real estate agents to guide them through this step.
• Homebuyers listed "the amount of paperwork" (25%) and "understanding closing documents" (16%) as the most challenging aspects of the closing process.
• A desire for personalized communication and quick response times, local market knowledge, and expertise on the closing process were the top four criteria homebuyers valued when evaluating their real estate agent.

ABOUT THE QUALIA HOMEBUYER SENTIMENT INDEX

Qualia commissioned Savanta Research to conduct a quantitative online research study between December 14, 2021, and January 4, 2022, among a general consumer pool in the US who recently bought a home or are planning to in the coming 12 months. 1,022 respondents participated in the study. The margin of error is 3.1% at a 95% confidence level. For more information or to view the full results, download the report here or visit Qualia Insight.

About Qualia

Qualia is the category-creating digital closing platform used by over half a million real estate and mortgage professionals. Qualia's cloud-based closing rooms provide the complete infrastructure to streamline the home closing and refinance experience for real estate and mortgage businesses and their clients. The company offers a suite of products that brings together homebuyers and sellers, mortgage lenders, title & escrow agents, and real estate agents onto one secure, remote platform. Since launching in 2015, the company has been named an ALTA Elite Provider, CB Insights Fintech 250, grown to over 500 employees, and has been recognized by Forbes as a Best Startup Employer. The company is a leader in industry security and was the first technology company to join the Coalition to Stop Real Estate Wire Fraud. Qualia is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, and has offices in Austin, TX, and Superior, CO. For more information on Qualia, visit www.qualia.com.

Press Contact: Frank Bauch, press@qualia.com