Why Mortgage Rate Comparison Is Valuable to Consumers

Today’s shoppers are generally tech-savvy. Across the United States, the majority of people check prices online before they make a purchase. And if that’s true for something they might spend a few hundred bucks on — like a TV or piece of furniture — you better believe it applies to higher-dollar purchases, too. 

Namely, when people make the major financial decision of buying a house, they want to be sure they’re not paying more than they need. 

You don’t have to take our word for it. The data reveals that most people value mortgage rate comparison enough to put in the work to make it happen. 

Most people compare mortgage rates

While Fannie Mae released data pointing out that about one-third of house hunters “still” don’t compare rates from multiple lenders, financial institutions should look at the other side of that report. Even if 36% of homebuyers stick with the first quote they get, the other 64% compare multiple quotes.

That means putting in extra work — but that effort could save them $100 month or more, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As a result, house hunters are often willing to take on the extra lift. 

That being said, they’re already tasked with navigating the quoting process at multiple lenders. If you make yours particularly onerous — say you don’t have a rate table on your website or you force them to take a phone call to get a personalized quote — they’ll probably look elsewhere. While homebuyers will put in some extra work to gather up a few quotes, in our digital age, most expect that quoting process to be a streamlined experience. 

That’s where you come in. If your mortgage lending institution can offer rate comparison in an easy, helpful, and informative way, you warm up that lead. In fact, creating an engaging, simple rate comparison experience can help you wow consumers in three distinct ways. 

3 ways mortgage rate comparison helps homebuyers

When people choose a mortgage lender, they — of course — want to get the best rate possible. But they also want to feel supported by a helpful team with their best interests in mind. When you tee up mortgage rate comparison, you serve up an exceptional customer experience by aiding your leads with the following: 

#1: Evaluating the competition

When looking for a mortgage lender, homebuyers want to compare apples to apples (i.e., APRs to APRs). The big competitors in the game offer current mortgage rates on their websites. If you don’t, you fall behind. 

Because really, consumers aren’t just comparing rates. They’re also comparing lenders. You want your institution to look just as informed and easy-to-work-with as the lenders that operate nationally. You also want to prove that you can provide a personalized service. To accomplish both, you can offer current mortgage rates for at-a-glance comparison (i.e., rate tables) alongside a simple process to get a personalized rate. 

#2: Finding their personalized rate

Let’s dig deeper into the personalized rate component. 

Most people looking for a mortgage know that the rate they get hinges on factors that are unique to them. They’ve probably used some basic mortgage calculators, like the one Google offers straight from its search page. With a toggle of the “include taxes and fees” button, consumers can get a rate quote tailored to their credit score, state, and down payment amount.

It’s a great starting point for many folks trying to figure out if they can afford a house. But your lending institution can take things a step further, offering a truly personalized rate. 

A lead workflow that asks a handful of basic questions, then gives them a tailored rate, helps consumers feel knowledgeable. It gives you a way to give them the information they want. And in turn, it gives you a way to capture their contact information for your loan officers. 

#3: Aligning their home purchase with their budget

Most home shoppers start looking at mortgages under the assumption that they’ll choose a 30-year fixed-rate loan. In fact, some might not even know that other options exist. 

With mortgage rate comparison tools like a personalized rate dashboard, you can show them not just one current rate, but rates for several different loan products. 

Clueing people into other options that could come with a lower rate (e.g., a 15-year fixed-rate loan, a 5/1 ARM) might help them find a better choice for their budget. Plus, presenting all their options in an easy-to-see way demonstrates that your institution is informed about the current mortgage market and committed to helping its customers. 

Making mortgage rate comparison easy — for lenders and consumers alike

Ultimately, with mortgage rate comparison tools like personalized rate lead workflows, rate charts, customer rate dashboards, and more, you meet modern consumers where they’re at with the information they want.

And if you think offering those kinds of tools means a heavy burden for your team, think again. 

Here at BankingBridge, we’ve developed everything you need. Our team can set rate comparison features up on your website. We can also connect them to both your mortgage product pricing engine (so that they stay automatically updated with the latest rates) and your CRM (so any completed lead workflows feed straight to your sales team). 

If you’re ready to see just how easy it can be to deliver a top-tier mortgage rate comparison experience, book a demo with our team today. We’re ready to show you the tools that can help you generate more leads and convert them into customers.  

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