CFPB and FHFA Publish New Data from National Survey of Mortgage Originations

The CFPB and FHFA published for public use updated loan-level data that they collected through their National Survey of Mortgage Originations, which is a component of the National Mortgage Database (NMDB®).  The update includes two more years of data through 2019.  In its announcement, the CFPB emphasized the following three findings of interest.  The percentage of respondents who reported that they were not concerned about qualifying for a mortgage increased by 3 percentage points—from 48% to 51%—for home purchases and 9 percentage points—from 57% to 66%—for refinances.  The percentage of respondents who cited the importance of an online mortgage process for choosing lenders or brokers stayed comparatively high—40% for purchases and 44% for refinances—from 2018 – 2019.  The percentage of respondents who reported applying for a mortgage through a broker increased by 4 percentage points—from 42% to 46%—for purchases and 8 percentage points—from 30% to 38%—for refinances.  In contrast, the percentage of respondents applying directly through a bank or credit union decreased by 5 percentage points—from 54% to 49%—for purchases and 6 percentage points—from 67% to 61%—for refinances.