Technical

Report Series

A Profile of 2013 Mortgage Borrowers: Statistics 

from the National Survey of Mortgage Originations

Technical Report 16-01

May 27, 2016

This document was prepared by Robert B. Avery, Brian Bucks, Christine Chai, 

Tim Critchfield, Ian H. Keith, Ismail E. Mohamed, Forrest W. Pafenberg, Saty Patrabansh, 

Jay D. Schultz, and Claudia E. Wood.

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction.................................................................................................................... 1

2.0 Comparing the 2013 NSMO with 2013 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data ........... 2

3.0 Profile of 2013 Mortgage Borrowers..............................................................................3

4.0 The Search for a Mortgage ...........................................................................................14

5.0 Selecting a Mortgage ...................................................................................................18

6.0 During the Application Process....................................................................................26

7.0 Closing on a Mortgage .................................................................................................28

8.0 Satisfaction with Mortgage Terms, Mortgage Process and Information ......................32

9.0 Opinions on Financial Responsibility...........................................................................35

10.0 Recent Changes in Neighborhood Housing..................................................................38

11.0 Expectations on Neighborhood House Prices and Neighborhood Desirability............41

12.0 Financial Expectations..................................................................................................44

13.0 Summary and Further Work .........................................................................................47

Appendix.......................................................................................................................48

1.0 Introduction

This Report provides information about the first set of responses to the National Survey of 

Mortgage Originations (NSMO or survey), which is jointly administered by the Federal Housing 

Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The survey 

collects information from a representative sample of recent mortgage borrowers about their 

experiences in choosing and in taking out a mortgage. It is designed to provide researchers, 

policy makers, and others with comprehensive data about the consumer experience when getting 

a mortgage.

The survey data contained in this Report pertains to borrowers who obtained a mortgage in 2013. 

As a result, these survey data provide a baseline of information prior to the effective dates of 

recent mortgage reforms, including revised mortgage disclosures, resulting from the Dodd-Frank 

Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The NSMO is a recurring quarterly mail survey of about 6,000 new mortgage borrowers each 

quarter using a sampling frame drawn from the National Mortgage Database (NMDB). 1 The 

NMDB in turn is a representative 1-in-20 sample of closed-end first-lien mortgages reported to 

Experian, one of the three national credit repositories. At present the quarterly sample of 6,000 

mortgages represent a sampling rate of about 1-in-260 from the population of new mortgage

originations. 

The NSMO questionnaire focuses on topics such as mortgage shopping behavior, mortgage 

closing experiences, and other information that cannot be obtained from any other source, such 

as expectations regarding house price appreciation, critical household financial events, and life

events such as unemployment, large medical expenses, or divorce. In general, borrowers are not 

asked to provide information about mortgage terms in the questionnaire since these fields are 

available in the Experian data. However, the survey collects a limited amount of information on 

the mortgage to verify that the credit repository records and survey responses pertain to the same

mortgage. 

The NSMO survey design calls for a sample drawn from mortgages newly reported to Experian 

during the previous quarter. In the first year of the survey there was a catch up period to cover 

all mortgages originated in 2013 and reported to Experian by September 2014. This report 

1

 The National Mortgage Database project is a multi-year project being jointly undertaken by the Federal Housing 

Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The project is designed to provide 

a source of information about the U.S. mortgage market based on a five percent sample of residential mortgages. 

The NMDB will enable FHFA to meet the statutory requirements of section 1324(c) of the Federal Housing 

Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, as amended by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 

2008, to conduct a monthly mortgage market survey. For CFPB, the NMDB project will support policymaking and 

research efforts and help identify and understand emerging mortgage and housing market trends. For further

information on the NMDB, see National Mortgage Database Technical Report 15-01 (August 27, 2015), 

http://www.fhfa.gov/PolicyProgramsResearch/Programs/Documents/NMDB_Technical_Report_15-01_082715.pdf. 

For additional background, see also the Appendix.

1
presents results from the 6,062 responses to the first year of the survey and, thus, provides an 

overview of the mortgage market and borrowers’ experiences in 2013.2 These unweighted 

responses were about one-third of the sample drawn from mortgages originated in 2013. It is 

intended to be the first in a series of annual reports on new mortgage borrowers based on the 

NSMO. 

This report is organized as follows. Section two compares the 2013 NSMO with 2013 Home 

Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. Section three presents the overall profile of survey 

respondents in 2013, including their demographic characteristics and what kind of mortgages 

they obtained. Sections four through seven describe how the 2013 borrowers shopped for their

mortgages and the application and closing processes. Section eight presents borrowers’

mortgage outcomes and measures of their satisfaction in the mortgage application and closing 

process. Section nine considers borrowers’ opinions on financial responsibility and section ten

examines borrowers’ opinions on the neighborhood where they obtained their mortgage. 

Sections eleven and twelve discuss 2013 mortgage borrower’s expectations for house prices, 

neighborhood desirability, and their own financial circumstances over the next couple of years. 

Finally, section thirteen offers next steps. The Appendix provides details on the overall NMDB 

project and the sample frame and data preparation procedures for the NSMO. 

2.0 Comparing the 2013 NSMO with 2013 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data

To provide context about the representative scope of the NSMO, this section compares the 

NSMO sample of mortgages originated in 2013 with 2013 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. 

While the HMDA data do have some well-known coverage issues due to lender reporting

requirements, the annual HMDA data are believed to be close to a universe of all first-lien 

mortgages originated in the United States. To make the comparison with the loan level data 

available in HMDA, the NSMO sample is weighted to represent the overall mortgage market in 

2013. For example, the NSMO sample of mortgages originated in 2013 represents 7.5 million 

originations of first liens on owner-occupied homes in 2013 with a total loan volume of $1.58 

trillion. The 2013 collection for the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act included 7.1 million 

originations of first liens on owner-occupied housing covering $1.56 trillion. Thus, the count of 

mortgages covered by the NSMO was five percent greater than in HMDA and the amount was 

2

 There are several ways calculations based on the NSMO raw survey responses may not be representative of the 

population as a whole and, as a result, survey responses are appropriately weighted. Commonly, in survey sampling, 

some individuals chosen for the sample are unwilling or unable to participate in the survey. Nonresponse bias (either

complete nonresponse to the survey or nonresponse to selected items within the survey) is the bias that results when 

respondents differ in meaningful ways from non- respondents. To address this nonresponse bias, the NSMO uses 

weighting to adjust for differential response to the survey. In addition, to address missing information on individual

questions within the survey, the NSMO uses statistical methods to impute missing data; the technique makes

multiple estimates of missing data to allow for an estimate of the uncertainty attributable to this type of nonresponse.

See National Survey of Mortgage Borrowers Technical Report 15-02 (August 27, 2015), 

http://www.fhfa.gov/PolicyProgramsResearch/Programs/Documents/NSMO_Technical_Report_15-02-082715.pdf

for more details.

2
only two percent greater. Accordingly, the average loans size in the NSMO is smaller than in 

HMDA—$212,165 compared with $219,229. 

Both NSMO and HMDA break down total originations of first liens on owner-occupied loans 

into home purchase and refinance transactions. The NSMO showed 2.9 million loans to 

purchase a home in 2013 with a loan volume of $620 billion compared with 2.7 million loans and 

a loan volume of $625 billion in the 2013 HMDA data. The NSMO showed 4.6 million 

transactions to refinance a loan for $962 billion, while HMDA showed 4.4 million for $931 

billion.

The greater count and dollar volumes of loans in the NSMO compared with 2013 HMDA likely 

stems in large part from differences in the set of lenders that the two data sets cover. 

Specifically, some lenders do not report loans for HMDA because they do not meet the assetsize, location, federally related, or loan activity requirements for reporting. In contrast, loans 

from these lenders would be sampled in the NSMO. 

The NSMO and 2013 HMDA data particularly diverge in their coverage of mortgages on 

properties that are not owner-occupied. HMDA includes about 1.1 million such mortgages, more 

than 60 percent greater than captured in the NSMO. The NSMO reported $124 billion in 

mortgage originations in 2013 that were not owner-occupied properties, while HMDA showed 

$316 billion. HMDA covers many larger mortgages that were both not owner-occupied and 

included business partnerships, and these mortgages would not be covered by NSMO. 

Reconciling the sources of these differences requires further investigation. 

3.0 Profile of 2013 Mortgage Borrowers

Tables 2 through 5 present percentage distributions of loan and property characteristics for 

several demographic groups, loan types, and properties from the NSMO. Table 2 presents loan 

size and mortgage term to maturity. Table 3 presents credit score, Table 4 presents loan type, 

and Table 5 presents property type. The bottom row of each table shows the percentage 

distribution of each loan or property characteristic. Finally, Table 6 presents the percent of 

household life events experienced by survey respondents over the last couple of years.

Count (Thousands)1 Volume (Billions 

Dollar) Count (Thousands) Volume (Billions 

Dollar)

Owner-occupied 7,457 1,582 7,096 1,556 

Purchase 2,858 620 2,703 625 

Refinance 4,598 962 4,393 931 

Not owner-occupied 675 124 1,123 316 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013, and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, 2013

Notes: 1. The ow ner-occupied count total from the NSMO does not equal the sum of purchase and refinance counts from the NSMO due to rounding.

Table 1. Comparison of Mortgage Originations, 2013

(Count and Dollar Volume)

Mortgage Originations National Survey of Mortgage Originations Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA)

3
$50,000

or Less

$50,000 to 

$150,000

$150,001 to 

$300,000

More than 

$300,000

Less than 

15 Years

15

Years

15 to 30

Years

30 Years

or More

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 1.4 41.6 44.1 12.9 1.6 7.8 4.8 85.8 21.9 40.0 10.5 

36 to 45 1.7 31.5 41.1 25.6 3.1 17.8 7.3 71.9 23.3 22.4 23.9 

46 to 55 3.5 37.9 39.0 19.5 6.4 25.5 9.0 59.2 24.2 16.7 28.9 

56 to 65 4.1 45.3 34.0 16.5 8.9 23.1 7.1 60.9 19.8 13.3 24.0 

Older than 65 8.0 48.4 31.2 12.5 8.5 18.7 5.8 67.0 10.7 7.6 12.7 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 3.4 42.0 38.4 16.2 6.0 18.8 7.2 68.0 72.8 70.9 73.9 

Hispanic and Non-White 2.7 34.1 39.8 23.4 3.4 18.1 6.1 72.3 27.2 29.1 26.1 

Hispanic White 4.4 45.7 36.4 13.5 4.4 16.1 7.3 72.2 5.5 6.4 4.9 

Asian 0.9 17.1 38.0 44.0 3.2 28.0 4.8 64.0 5.7 5.6 5.8 

Black 4.6 47.7 38.1 9.5 2.6 12.5 8.6 76.3 5.0 5.1 4.9 

Mixed and Other 1.9 31.0 43.1 23.9 3.5 16.6 5.1 74.8 11.1 12.0 10.6 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 8.8 59.7 25.6 6.0 6.3 18.3 8.9 66.5 12.1 11.7 12.3 

Some School 12.7 54.2 29.5 3.6 5.0 14.0 10.7 70.3 1.8 2.3 1.5 

High School 8.1 60.6 24.9 6.5 6.5 19.1 8.6 65.9 10.3 9.4 10.8 

Some College 3.8 50.9 35.7 9.6 5.5 15.8 7.9 70.8 23.6 22.8 24.1 

Technical School 4.9 54.4 34.1 6.5 5.5 16.2 9.4 68.9 4.9 4.4 5.2 

Partial College 3.6 50.0 36.0 10.4 5.5 15.7 7.5 71.3 18.8 18.5 18.9 

College Degree 2.3 36.9 42.5 18.3 4.1 18.0 6.0 71.9 35.1 36.3 34.4 

Postgraduate 1.5 26.2 42.4 29.9 6.1 21.8 6.4 65.7 29.1 29.2 29.1 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 9.5 72.1 16.6 1.8 5.1 14.2 7.9 72.8 17.4 19.8 15.8 

Less than $35,000 14.1 72.6 11.6 1.7 5.5 13.8 8.3 72.5 6.4 6.5 6.4 

$35,000 to $49,999 6.8 71.9 19.5 1.8 4.8 14.5 7.7 72.9 10.9 13.4 9.4 

$50,000 to $99,999 3.2 47.7 42.6 6.5 5.2 18.1 7.1 69.6 38.1 38.6 37.7 

$50,000 to $74,999 4.3 53.7 37.7 4.3 4.7 17.5 7.2 70.6 19.4 20.9 18.4 

$75,000 to $99,999 2.0 41.6 47.6 8.9 5.6 18.8 7.1 68.5 18.7 17.7 19.3 

$100,000 to $174,999 1.0 25.4 51.4 22.1 5.6 19.4 7.3 67.7 28.8 27.4 29.7 

$175,000 or More 0.4 11.5 31.2 56.9 5.3 23.2 4.8 66.7 15.8 14.2 16.8 

Household Type

Couple 2.7 35.9 40.5 20.9 5.7 19.1 6.9 68.3 78.0 77.3 78.4 

Married 2.5 35.2 40.6 21.6 5.9 19.9 6.9 67.3 71.1 66.4 74.1 

With Partner 4.2 43.4 39.0 13.5 4.0 10.8 6.9 78.3 6.9 10.9 4.3 

Single 5.1 53.7 32.8 8.3 3.9 16.9 7.0 72.2 22.0 22.7 21.6 

Male 4.1 53.8 32.9 9.2 3.7 17.1 4.8 74.4 9.5 10.6 8.9 

Female 5.9 53.7 32.7 7.7 4.0 16.7 8.6 70.6 12.5 12.1 12.7 

Military

Active Duty or Veteran 3.9 40.1 41.1 15.0 6.0 15.4 4.6 74.0 18.3 18.0 18.6 

Active Duty 1.8 27.7 50.9 19.5 4.6 7.5 4.4 83.5 1.8 3.1 0.9 

Veteran 4.1 41.4 40.0 14.5 6.1 16.3 4.7 73.0 16.6 14.9 17.7 

No Military Service 3.1 39.8 38.3 18.9 5.1 19.3 7.5 68.1 81.7 82.0 81.4 

Basic Training 3.7 48.3 31.6 16.4 5.6 18.9 9.4 66.1 5.0 4.3 5.4 

Never Served 3.0 39.2 38.7 19.0 5.1 19.4 7.3 68.2 76.7 77.7 76.0 

Table 2. Loan Size and Mortgage Term to Maturity, by Demographic, Loan, and Property Characteristics 

(Continued on the next page)

(Percentage Distribution)

Share of

All Loans

Share of

Purchases

Characteristics Share of

Refinances

Loan Size1 Mortgage Term to Maturity1

4
$50,000

or Less

$50,000 to 

$150,000

$150,001 to 

$300,000

More than 

$300,000

Less than 

15 Years

15

Years

15 to 30

Years

30 Years or 

More

Employment

Full-Time 2.4 37.9 40.2 19.5 5.0 18.5 7.0 69.4 86.3 89.3 84.4 

Couple, Both 1.7 34.3 41.6 22.4 5.2 19.5 7.1 68.2 41.6 42.5 41.0 

Couple, One 2.8 34.8 41.0 21.4 5.6 18.7 6.8 68.9 27.7 27.6 27.7 

Single 3.7 51.5 35.7 9.1 3.7 15.8 7.3 73.1 17.1 19.2 15.7 

Not Full-Time 8.2 52.2 29.9 9.7 7.0 19.1 6.3 67.5 13.7 10.7 15.6 

Couple, Neither 7.1 46.9 34.0 12.0 8.5 18.2 6.7 66.6 8.7 7.2 9.7 

Single 10.0 61.6 22.7 5.7 4.5 20.6 5.7 69.2 4.9 3.4 5.9 

Credit Score 1

Lower than 620 5.0 52.0 31.0 12.0 5.2 7.9 11.8 75.1 4.3 4.0 4.4 

620 to 679 3.8 41.8 43.2 11.2 2.1 11.2 6.9 79.8 14.6 16.3 13.5 

620 to 639 4.9 46.0 38.8 10.3 2.2 10.7 3.5 83.7 3.4 3.7 3.1 

640 to 659 1.6 39.7 46.6 12.1 3.0 9.6 8.2 79.2 5.4 5.7 5.2 

660 to 679 5.2 41.4 42.5 10.9 1.2 13.0 7.7 78.1 5.8 6.9 5.2 

680 to 719 2.9 44.6 39.0 13.5 4.7 13.7 7.0 74.6 14.6 15.0 14.4 

680 to 699 4.4 45.0 40.5 10.1 4.6 13.3 8.9 73.3 6.4 6.3 6.5 

700 to 719 1.8 44.4 37.8 16.1 4.9 14.1 5.5 75.5 8.2 8.7 8.0 

720 or Higher 3.1 37.6 38.3 21.1 6.1 22.0 6.6 65.3 66.5 64.8 67.6 

720 to 739 1.9 39.9 39.7 18.6 4.8 14.3 6.3 74.6 9.6 10.5 9.0 

740 or Higher 3.2 37.2 38.1 21.5 6.3 23.3 6.7 63.7 56.9 54.3 58.6 

Loan Type

Purchase 2 3.2 38.9 40.1 17.9 2.2 8.0 2.3 87.5 38.8 100.0 0.0 

First-Time Homeowner1 2.1 44.2 41.8 11.9 0.9 4.7 1.4 93.1 8.5 22.0 0.0 

Repeat Homeowner 2.7 35.5 41.2 20.6 1.9 7.5 2.6 87.9 26.6 68.7 0.0 

Seasonal Home 5.9 41.4 36.1 16.7 3.3 33.7 0.7 62.4 1.1 2.8 0.0 

Relative Home 10.0 67.1 17.2 5.8 5.3 13.0 8.0 73.7 0.5 1.3 0.0 

Investment Home 10.4 53.1 25.6 10.9 9.2 13.1 1.6 76.1 2.0 5.2 0.0 

Refinance 2 3.3 40.4 38.0 18.3 7.3 25.3 9.9 57.5 61.2 0.0 100.0 

Homeowner Cashout3 3.3 37.5 39.7 19.6 8.0 25.8 7.1 59.1 16.8 0.0 27.5 

Homeowner Regular 3.0 41.0 37.5 18.5 7.1 25.5 10.8 56.5 39.7 0.0 64.8 

Seasonal Home 4.8 34.2 33.1 28.0 9.9 31.0 1.4 57.7 0.8 0.0 1.3 

Relative Home 2.3 61.9 25.2 10.6 13.1 32.0 6.5 48.4 0.5 0.0 0.8 

Investment Home 6.6 46.5 38.3 8.7 4.0 18.6 14.6 62.8 3.4 0.0 5.6 

Property Type

Single-family Detached House 2.9 38.4 40.3 18.4 5.5 18.7 7.0 68.9 84.0 81.8 85.5 

Townhouse, Row House, or Villa 2.6 46.2 33.2 18.0 1.8 17.3 5.7 75.2 5.7 6.6 5.2 

Mobile or Manufactured Home 17.3 71.3 9.7 1.7 16.2 16.0 13.7 54.1 1.7 2.0 1.4 

Two-to-Four Unit Dwelling 5.8 48.5 32.6 13.1 4.3 22.9 8.4 64.3 2.2 2.0 2.3 

Condo, Apartment House, or Co-op 2.8 41.1 34.4 21.7 2.3 18.5 5.2 74.0 6.0 7.0 5.4 

Other 12.0 54.1 33.9 0.0 21.9 19.0 0.0 59.1 0.3 0.6 0.2 

All Respondents 3.2 39.8 38.8 18.1 5.3 18.6 6.9 69.2 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Table 2. Loan Size and Mortgage Term to Maturity, by Demographic, Loan, Property Characteristics (Continued) 

(Percentage Distribution)

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the prior mortgage amount or a if the mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, the mortgage is classified as a cashout refinance.

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Credit score, loan size, mortgage term to maturity, and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A 

homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

2. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

Characteristics Loan Size1 Mortgage Term to Maturity1 Share of

Refinances

Share of

All Loans

Share of

Purchases

5
All 620 to 639 640 to 659 660 to 679 All 680 to 699 700 to 719 All 720 to 739 740 or Higher

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 3.9 17.6 3.8 6.0 7.8 16.2 6.4 9.9 62.2 12.7 49.6 21.9 

36 to 45 5.1 15.7 3.4 5.8 6.5 16.4 6.9 9.5 62.8 9.5 53.3 23.3 

46 to 55 4.0 15.4 3.5 5.7 6.2 13.6 6.3 7.3 67.1 9.1 58.0 24.2 

56 to 65 3.8 12.2 3.4 5.0 3.8 13.1 6.2 6.9 70.9 8.3 62.6 19.8 

Older than 65 4.7 8.5 1.8 3.2 3.5 12.9 6.1 6.8 73.8 6.8 67.0 10.7 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 3.8 13.9 2.9 5.3 5.7 14.7 6.6 8.1 67.6 9.2 58.4 72.8 

Hispanic and Non-White 5.4 16.4 4.6 5.6 6.3 14.6 5.9 8.6 63.6 10.5 53.1 27.2 

Hispanic White 6.6 17.9 5.5 4.5 7.9 17.7 5.3 12.4 57.8 14.8 43.0 5.5 

Asian 2.1 7.9 1.7 4.7 1.6 6.4 1.7 4.6 83.6 6.5 77.1 5.7 

Black 9.1 22.4 7.1 5.4 9.8 23.7 10.1 13.6 44.8 11.7 33.1 5.0 

Mixed and Other 4.8 17.4 4.5 6.6 6.3 13.2 6.6 6.6 64.5 9.9 54.6 11.1 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 7.4 19.3 5.2 8.8 5.3 21.2 9.6 11.6 52.1 10.5 41.6 12.1 

Some School 4.8 27.0 4.7 15.0 7.3 28.6 20.7 7.9 39.5 7.6 31.9 1.8 

High School 7.8 17.9 5.3 7.7 5.0 19.9 7.7 12.3 54.3 11.0 43.3 10.3 

Some College 5.8 21.2 4.9 7.1 9.3 16.4 6.8 9.6 56.6 9.4 47.2 23.6 

Technical School 5.2 18.5 5.1 4.2 9.1 12.3 5.2 7.2 64.0 9.7 54.3 4.9 

Partial College 5.9 21.9 4.8 7.8 9.3 17.5 7.2 10.3 54.7 9.3 45.3 18.8 

College Degree 3.8 13.3 3.2 4.7 5.4 14.3 6.8 7.4 68.7 10.0 58.7 35.1 

Postgraduate 2.3 8.9 1.5 3.5 3.9 10.9 4.2 6.7 77.9 8.8 69.1 29.1 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 7.9 19.4 5.2 6.0 8.3 17.9 8.6 9.3 54.9 10.6 44.3 17.4 

Less than $35,000 11.4 19.3 4.8 6.5 8.0 16.3 9.5 6.8 53.0 10.0 43.0 6.4 

$35,000 to $49,999 5.8 19.5 5.4 5.7 8.5 18.8 8.0 10.8 55.9 10.9 45.0 10.9 

$50,000 to $99,999 4.6 15.8 3.5 6.3 6.0 16.3 7.3 9.0 63.4 10.3 53.1 38.1 

$50,000 to $74,999 4.3 15.4 3.3 5.8 6.4 17.9 8.1 9.8 62.4 10.1 52.2 19.4 

$75,000 to $99,999 4.8 16.1 3.7 6.8 5.6 14.6 6.4 8.2 64.5 10.5 54.0 18.7 

$100,000 to $174,999 3.1 13.8 3.2 5.1 5.5 13.1 5.2 7.9 70.1 8.8 61.3 28.8 

$175,000 or More 1.7 8.0 1.2 3.3 3.5 10.0 4.1 5.9 80.3 8.2 72.1 15.8 

Household Type

Couple 4.1 14.7 3.2 5.8 5.7 14.5 6.2 8.4 66.6 9.4 57.2 78.0 

Married 4.1 14.3 2.9 5.6 5.7 14.5 6.1 8.4 67.1 9.1 57.9 71.1 

With Partner 4.0 18.8 5.5 7.7 5.6 15.2 6.7 8.5 62.0 12.5 49.5 6.9 

Single 4.7 14.2 4.0 3.9 6.3 15.1 7.3 7.8 66.0 10.1 55.9 22.0 

Male 3.4 11.9 2.8 3.1 6.0 16.0 7.1 8.9 68.7 11.0 57.7 9.5 

Female 5.7 15.9 4.9 4.5 6.5 14.3 7.4 6.9 64.0 9.4 54.6 12.5 

Military

Active Duty or Veteran 4.6 15.7 2.6 6.6 6.5 16.0 7.1 8.9 63.8 10.0 53.8 18.3 

Active Duty 3.4 14.0 0.0 11.1 2.9 23.5 11.4 12.2 59.1 13.8 45.3 1.8 

Veteran 4.7 15.8 2.9 6.1 6.8 15.2 6.6 8.5 64.3 9.6 54.7 16.6 

No Military Service 4.2 14.4 3.5 5.1 5.7 14.3 6.3 8.1 67.1 9.5 57.6 81.7 

Basic Training 6.9 16.2 3.9 6.3 6.0 14.2 6.9 7.3 62.7 11.4 51.3 5.0 

Never Served 4.0 14.2 3.5 5.1 5.7 14.4 6.2 8.1 67.4 9.4 58.0 76.7 

Credit Score Characteristics 1 Share of

Lower than 620 to 679 680 to 719 720 or Higher All Loans

620

Table 3. Credit Score, by Demographic, Loan, and Property Characteristics

(Continued on the next page)

(Percentage Distribution)

6
All 620 to 639 640 to 659 660 to 679 All 680 to 699 700 to 719 All 720 to 739 740 or Higher

Employment

Full-Time 4.1 15.4 3.5 5.6 6.2 15.3 6.7 8.6 65.3 9.8 55.4 86.3 

Couple, Both 4.4 16.3 3.5 6.2 6.6 15.4 6.0 9.5 63.8 9.9 54.0 41.6 

Couple, One 3.7 13.9 3.0 5.8 5.2 14.5 7.2 7.3 67.9 9.5 58.5 27.7 

Single 4.0 15.5 4.4 4.0 7.0 16.3 7.7 8.5 64.3 10.2 54.1 17.1 

Not Full-Time 5.4 9.7 2.3 4.0 3.4 10.5 4.4 6.1 74.4 8.0 66.3 13.7 

Couple, Neither 4.3 9.7 2.1 4.4 3.2 10.2 3.7 6.5 75.8 7.1 68.6 8.7 

Single 7.4 9.8 2.6 3.4 3.8 10.9 5.6 5.3 71.9 9.6 62.3 4.9 

Credit Score 1

Lower than 620 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.3 

620 to 679 0.0 100.0 23.0 37.0 40.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 14.6 

620 to 639 0.0 100.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.4 

640 to 659 0.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.4 

660 to 679 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.8 

680 to 719 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 43.7 56.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 14.6 

680 to 699 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.4 

700 to 719 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.2 

720 or Higher 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 14.4 85.6 66.5 

720 to 739 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 100.0 0.0 9.6 

740 or Higher 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 56.9 

Loan Type

Purchase 2 4.0 16.3 3.7 5.7 6.9 15.0 6.3 8.7 64.8 10.5 54.3 38.8 

First-Time Homeowner1 4.2 18.2 2.5 7.3 8.4 17.7 8.1 9.6 59.9 11.5 48.4 8.5 

Repeat Homeowner 4.2 17.3 4.5 5.8 6.9 15.1 6.2 8.9 63.4 10.6 52.8 26.6 

Seasonal Home 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.2 3.0 5.3 91.8 7.4 84.3 1.1 

Relative Home 6.3 7.3 2.6 2.2 2.4 8.7 3.4 5.3 77.7 0.0 77.7 0.5 

Investment Home 1.4 5.7 0.0 1.4 4.3 6.7 3.1 3.6 86.2 9.3 76.8 2.0 

Refinance 2 4.4 13.5 3.1 5.2 5.2 14.4 6.5 8.0 67.6 9.0 58.6 61.2 

Homeowner Cashout3 6.3 16.4 4.0 6.1 6.3 16.6 8.0 8.6 60.6 8.5 52.1 16.8 

Homeowner Regular 3.7 12.7 2.9 4.9 4.9 13.8 5.8 7.9 69.8 9.9 59.9 39.7 

Seasonal Home 0.0 14.7 3.4 9.2 2.1 7.4 7.4 0.0 77.9 4.0 74.0 0.8 

Relative Home 2.9 11.1 6.8 0.0 4.3 18.5 3.5 15.1 67.4 0.0 67.4 0.5 

Investment Home 4.5 9.0 0.9 3.9 4.2 12.1 6.2 5.9 74.4 3.9 70.5 3.4 

Property Type

Single-family Detached House 4.4 15.1 3.1 5.8 6.2 15.1 6.5 8.5 65.4 9.7 55.7 84.0 

Townhouse, Row House, or Villa 2.7 11.4 4.3 1.8 5.3 12.5 5.5 6.9 73.5 8.5 65.0 5.7 

Mobile or Manufactured Home 18.7 21.7 9.2 3.8 8.7 12.3 7.3 5.0 47.3 8.4 38.9 1.7 

Two-to-Four Unit Dwelling 1.6 12.2 4.3 4.5 3.4 16.0 7.2 8.8 70.2 5.7 64.5 2.2 

Condo, Apartment House, or Co-op 0.3 9.8 3.6 4.1 2.2 10.2 4.3 5.9 79.7 10.2 69.5 6.0 

Other 0.0 19.3 8.5 5.7 5.1 25.6 15.0 10.6 55.1 20.9 34.2 0.3 

All Respondents 4.3 14.6 3.4 5.4 5.8 14.6 6.4 8.2 66.5 9.6 56.9 100.0 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Credit score, loan size, mortgage term to maturity, and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A 

homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

2. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the prior mortgage amount or a if the mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, the mortgage is classified as a cashout refinance.

(Percentage Distribution)

Table 3. Credit Score, by Demographic, Loan, and Property Characteristics (Continued)

Characteristics Credit Score1 Share of

Lower than All Loans

620

620 to 679 680 to 719 720 or Higher

7
All First-Time1 Repeat Seasonal Relative Investment All Cashout3 Regular Seasonal Relative Investment

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 70.7 28.7 39.9 0.1 0.1 1.9 29.3 7.0 20.2 0.0 0.2 1.9 21.9 

36 to 45 37.3 6.3 28.5 0.4 0.1 1.9 62.7 15.7 42.3 0.3 0.4 4.0 23.3 

46 to 55 26.8 3.2 19.5 1.6 0.3 2.2 73.2 21.5 47.1 0.9 0.4 3.3 24.2 

56 to 65 26.0 0.0 20.6 1.9 1.1 2.4 74.0 21.1 45.8 1.8 0.9 4.4 19.8 

Older than 65 27.4 0.0 22.6 1.9 1.5 1.4 72.6 21.0 45.7 1.5 0.6 3.7 10.7 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 37.8 8.1 26.1 1.2 0.6 1.7 62.2 17.5 40.4 1.0 0.5 3.0 72.8 

Hispanic and Non-White 41.4 9.8 28.0 0.8 0.2 2.7 58.6 15.1 37.9 0.4 0.5 4.7 27.2 

Hispanic White 45.5 10.3 31.2 1.1 0.5 2.4 54.5 13.0 36.0 0.2 0.4 4.9 5.5 

Asian 38.2 10.3 22.3 0.9 0.0 4.8 61.8 15.8 41.8 0.0 0.2 4.0 5.7 

Black 40.0 9.9 27.7 0.0 0.0 2.3 60.0 13.6 40.9 0.3 1.3 3.8 5.0 

Mixed and Other 41.7 9.2 29.4 0.9 0.3 1.9 58.3 16.4 35.4 0.7 0.4 5.4 11.1 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 37.6 6.9 27.1 0.8 0.8 2.0 62.4 22.0 38.7 0.2 0.4 1.1 12.1 

Some School 49.4 8.6 38.0 0.0 0.0 2.8 50.6 20.9 28.0 0.9 0.0 0.7 1.8 

High School 35.5 6.6 25.1 1.0 0.9 1.9 64.5 22.1 40.6 0.1 0.5 1.1 10.3 

Some College 37.5 7.3 27.0 1.2 0.5 1.4 62.5 16.3 41.1 0.6 0.5 4.1 23.6 

Technical School 34.8 10.7 21.1 0.9 0.8 1.2 65.2 15.6 45.6 0.4 0.7 2.9 4.9 

Partial College 38.2 6.4 28.6 1.2 0.4 1.5 61.8 16.5 39.9 0.6 0.4 4.4 18.8 

College Degree 40.0 10.3 26.2 1.0 0.2 2.3 60.0 16.6 38.5 0.9 0.4 3.6 35.1 

Postgraduate 38.8 8.1 26.6 1.2 0.7 2.1 61.2 15.4 40.4 1.1 0.7 3.7 29.1 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 44.3 15.2 27.3 0.5 0.2 1.1 55.7 18.3 34.0 0.3 0.7 2.4 17.4 

Less than $35,000 39.1 11.7 26.2 0.0 0.0 1.1 60.9 18.4 37.7 0.8 0.8 3.3 6.4 

$35,000 to $49,999 47.3 17.2 27.9 0.9 0.3 1.0 52.7 18.2 31.9 0.0 0.7 2.0 10.9 

$50,000 to $99,999 39.3 10.3 26.5 0.5 0.4 1.6 60.7 17.3 40.0 0.5 0.2 2.7 38.1 

$50,000 to $74,999 41.9 11.7 28.1 0.5 0.2 1.3 58.1 16.1 39.1 0.3 0.3 2.3 19.4 

$75,000 to $99,999 36.7 8.9 24.8 0.6 0.6 1.8 63.3 18.6 41.0 0.6 0.1 3.1 18.7 

$100,000 to $174,999 36.9 5.0 27.8 1.2 0.7 2.1 63.1 16.2 41.8 0.8 0.4 4.0 28.8 

$175,000 or More 34.8 3.3 24.0 2.8 0.7 3.9 65.2 15.3 41.3 2.2 1.2 5.3 15.8 

Household Type

Couple 38.4 5.9 28.6 1.3 0.6 2.1 61.6 16.9 39.9 0.9 0.4 3.5 78.0 

Married 36.2 5.7 26.4 1.3 0.6 2.1 63.8 17.7 41.1 0.9 0.5 3.6 71.1 

With Partner 61.9 8.2 51.1 0.5 0.4 1.7 38.1 8.9 26.7 0.6 0.2 1.8 6.9 

Single 39.9 17.8 19.7 0.5 0.2 1.7 60.1 16.5 39.0 0.6 0.6 3.3 22.0 

Male 43.0 20.9 19.4 0.5 0.1 2.0 57.0 17.7 34.6 0.6 0.8 3.3 9.5 

Female 37.5 15.4 19.8 0.5 0.3 1.5 62.5 15.7 42.4 0.6 0.5 3.3 12.5 

Military

Active Duty or Veteran 38.1 5.3 28.2 1.3 1.1 2.2 61.9 18.4 38.4 1.1 0.3 3.8 18.3 

Active Duty 68.8 17.2 45.4 0.0 0.0 6.2 31.2 5.8 17.8 0.0 0.0 7.6 1.8 

Veteran 34.8 4.1 26.4 1.4 1.2 1.7 65.2 19.8 40.6 1.2 0.3 3.4 16.6 

No Military Service 38.9 9.3 26.3 1.0 0.4 2.0 61.1 16.5 40.0 0.7 0.5 3.4 81.7 

Basic Training 33.6 5.1 26.1 1.0 0.2 1.2 66.4 15.2 46.4 0.3 0.9 3.6 5.0 

Never Served 39.3 9.5 26.3 1.0 0.4 2.0 60.7 16.6 39.6 0.8 0.5 3.3 76.7 

Table 4. Loan Type, by Demographic and Property Characteristics

(Percentage Distribution)

Characteristics Share of

All Loans

Loan Type2

Purchase2 Refinance2

(Continued on the next page)

8
All First-Time1 Repeat Seasonal Relative Investment All Cashout3 Regular Seasonal Relative Investment

Employment

Full-Time 40.1 9.6 27.1 1.1 0.4 2.0 59.9 16.2 39.2 0.7 0.5 3.4 86.3 

Couple, Both 39.6 8.0 27.9 1.0 0.4 2.2 60.4 16.7 39.5 0.5 0.5 3.2 41.6 

Couple, One 38.7 4.2 30.6 1.3 0.5 2.0 61.3 15.9 40.3 1.1 0.4 3.7 27.7 

Single 43.7 22.0 19.3 0.6 0.2 1.5 56.3 15.2 36.9 0.4 0.6 3.4 17.1 

Not Full-Time 30.3 2.1 23.8 1.3 1.0 2.0 69.7 21.1 42.5 1.7 0.6 3.8 13.7 

Couple, Neither 32.1 1.5 25.4 2.0 1.5 1.7 67.9 21.1 40.3 1.9 0.5 4.2 8.7 

Single 27.0 3.2 20.9 0.2 0.3 2.4 73.0 21.3 46.3 1.3 0.9 3.2 4.9 

Credit Score 1

Lower than 620 36.4 8.5 26.4 0.0 0.7 0.7 63.6 25.1 34.6 0.0 0.3 3.6 4.3 

620 to 679 43.2 10.7 31.5 0.0 0.3 0.8 56.8 18.9 34.6 0.8 0.4 2.1 14.6 

620 to 639 42.9 6.5 36.1 0.0 0.4 0.0 57.1 20.1 34.2 0.8 1.0 1.0 3.4 

640 to 659 40.9 11.5 28.6 0.0 0.2 0.5 59.1 18.9 36.4 1.4 0.0 2.5 5.4 

660 to 679 45.4 12.3 31.5 0.0 0.2 1.5 54.6 18.2 33.3 0.3 0.4 2.4 5.8 

680 to 719 39.6 10.3 27.5 0.6 0.3 0.9 60.4 19.1 37.4 0.4 0.6 2.8 14.6 

680 to 699 38.2 10.8 25.7 0.5 0.3 1.0 61.8 21.1 36.2 0.9 0.3 3.3 6.4 

700 to 719 40.8 9.9 28.9 0.7 0.3 0.9 59.2 17.6 38.3 0.0 0.9 2.5 8.2 

720 or Higher 37.8 7.7 25.4 1.5 0.6 2.6 62.2 15.3 41.6 0.9 0.5 3.8 66.5 

720 to 739 42.4 10.2 29.4 0.8 0.0 2.0 57.6 14.9 40.9 0.3 0.0 1.4 9.6 

740 or Higher 37.0 7.3 24.7 1.6 0.7 2.7 63.0 15.4 41.7 1.0 0.6 4.3 56.9 

Loan Type

Purchase 2 100.0 22.0 68.7 2.8 1.3 5.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 38.8 

First-Time Homeowner1 100.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.5 

Repeat Homeowner 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 26.6 

Seasonal Home 100.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.1 

Relative Home 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 

Investment Home 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 

Refinance 2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 27.5 64.8 1.3 0.8 5.6 61.2 

Homeowner Cashout3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 16.8 

Homeowner Regular 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.7 

Seasonal Home 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 

Relative Home 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.5 

Investment Home 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 3.4 

Property Type

Single-family Detached House 37.7 8.3 26.9 0.8 0.4 1.4 62.3 17.5 40.9 0.7 0.5 2.7 84.0 

Townhouse, Row House, or Villa 44.2 10.2 27.9 1.4 1.7 3.1 55.8 12.0 36.3 0.8 0.4 6.3 5.7 

Mobile or Manufactured Home 47.7 6.1 36.5 2.4 1.9 0.8 52.3 16.7 33.0 0.7 0.5 1.4 1.7 

Two-to-Four Unit Dwelling 35.2 5.7 15.3 0.4 0.0 13.8 64.8 19.2 24.8 0.5 1.5 18.9 2.2 

Condo, Apartment House, or Co-op 45.2 11.5 23.2 4.2 0.8 5.6 54.8 12.5 33.6 2.3 0.7 5.7 6.0 

Other 67.0 21.7 36.0 0.0 0.0 9.3 33.0 5.7 24.7 0.0 0.0 2.6 0.3 

All Respondents 38.8 8.5 26.6 1.1 0.5 2.0 61.2 16.8 39.7 0.8 0.5 3.4 100.0 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originationss, 2013

Notes: 1. Credit score, loan size, mortgage term to maturity, and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A 

homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the prior mortgage amount or a if the mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, the mortgage is classified as a cashout refinance.

Table 4. Loan Type, by Demographic and Property Characteristics (Continued)

(Percentage Distribution)

Characteristics Loan Type2 Share of

Purchase2 Refinance2 All Loans

2. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

9
Single-Family Townhouse Mobile Two-to-Four Unit Condo Other

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 83.0 6.5 1.6 1.5 7.0 0.4 21.9 

36 to 45 83.9 5.6 1.8 2.0 6.1 0.6 23.3 

46 to 55 87.0 5.1 1.3 1.9 4.5 0.1 24.2 

56 to 65 83.3 6.0 1.4 3.0 6.0 0.3 19.8 

Older than 65 81.1 5.5 2.6 3.2 7.3 0.2 10.7 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 85.3 5.3 2.0 2.0 5.2 0.2 72.8 

Hispanic and Non-White 80.7 7.0 0.8 2.6 8.3 0.6 27.2 

Hispanic White 78.4 7.4 1.1 3.0 9.6 0.5 5.5 

Asian 73.7 11.5 0.3 2.0 12.0 0.6 5.7 

Black 79.8 9.2 0.5 3.9 5.6 0.9 5.0 

Mixed and Other 85.8 3.6 1.1 2.2 6.8 0.4 11.1 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 85.8 2.8 4.2 2.5 3.8 0.9 12.1 

Some School 82.0 3.0 3.3 4.2 4.6 2.9 1.8 

High School 86.5 2.8 4.3 2.2 3.7 0.5 10.3 

Some College 86.6 4.9 2.9 2.3 3.0 0.4 23.6 

Technical School 87.3 3.7 1.2 4.0 3.1 0.7 4.9 

Partial College 86.4 5.2 3.3 1.8 2.9 0.3 18.8 

College Degree 83.1 6.8 0.9 2.3 6.9 0.1 35.1 

Postgraduate 82.4 6.4 0.6 1.9 8.4 0.3 29.1 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 81.3 5.1 3.5 3.8 5.3 0.9 17.4 

Less than $35,000 80.4 3.8 4.0 6.1 5.1 0.6 6.4 

$35,000 to $49,999 81.8 5.9 3.3 2.5 5.3 1.1 10.9 

$50,000 to $99,999 85.0 5.6 2.2 2.2 4.8 0.2 38.1 

$50,000 to $74,999 83.5 6.7 2.3 2.4 4.8 0.3 19.4 

$75,000 to $99,999 86.6 4.4 2.1 2.0 4.8 0.1 18.7 

$100,000 to $174,999 85.0 5.6 0.7 1.6 6.8 0.3 28.8 

$175,000 or More 82.9 7.1 0.1 1.5 8.5 0.0 15.8 

Household Type

Couple 87.0 4.7 1.6 1.9 4.7 0.2 78.0 

Married 88.0 4.4 1.5 1.8 4.0 0.2 71.1 

With Partner 75.7 6.9 2.0 3.0 12.4 0.0 6.9 

Single 73.7 9.6 2.0 3.3 10.6 0.8 22.0 

Male 74.5 8.2 2.4 3.3 10.4 1.2 9.5 

Female 73.1 10.7 1.7 3.3 10.7 0.5 12.5 

Military

Active Duty or Veteran 87.9 4.0 1.9 1.9 3.8 0.6 18.3 

Active Duty 87.8 5.3 0.9 0.0 4.1 1.8 1.8 

Veteran 87.9 3.9 2.0 2.1 3.7 0.4 16.6 

No Military Service 83.2 6.1 1.6 2.3 6.5 0.3 81.7 

Basic Training 86.0 5.0 1.6 3.0 3.9 0.5 5.0 

Never Served 83.0 6.2 1.6 2.2 6.7 0.3 76.7 

Table 5. Property Type, by Demographic and Loan Characteristics

(Percentage Distribution)

Characteristics Property Type Share of

All Loans

(Continued on the next page)

10
Single-Family Townhouse Mobile Two-to-Four Unit Condo Other

Employment

Full-Time 84.7 5.7 1.5 1.9 6.0 0.3 86.3 

Couple, Both 86.3 5.0 1.4 1.9 5.1 0.2 41.6 

Couple, One 88.5 4.0 1.5 1.4 4.4 0.2 27.7 

Single 74.4 9.8 1.5 2.5 11.0 0.9 17.1 

Not Full-Time 80.2 6.4 2.8 4.3 6.0 0.3 13.7 

Couple, Neither 85.1 4.8 2.4 3.4 4.1 0.1 8.7 

Single 71.5 9.1 3.6 6.0 9.2 0.6 4.9 

Credit Score 1

Lower than 620 87.9 3.6 7.3 0.8 0.4 0.0 4.3 

620 to 679 86.7 4.5 2.5 1.8 4.1 0.4 14.6 

620 to 639 78.1 7.4 4.5 2.8 6.4 0.8 3.4 

640 to 659 90.2 1.9 1.2 1.8 4.5 0.3 5.4 

660 to 679 88.5 5.2 2.5 1.3 2.2 0.3 5.8 

680 to 719 86.5 4.9 1.4 2.4 4.2 0.6 14.6 

680 to 699 85.9 5.0 1.9 2.4 4.0 0.8 6.4 

700 to 719 87.0 4.8 1.0 2.4 4.3 0.4 8.2 

720 or Higher 82.7 6.4 1.2 2.3 7.2 0.3 66.5 

720 to 739 85.0 5.1 1.4 1.3 6.4 0.7 9.6 

740 or Higher 82.3 6.6 1.1 2.5 7.4 0.2 56.9 

Loan Type

Purchase 2 81.8 6.6 2.0 2.0 7.0 0.6 38.8 

First-Time Homeowner1 81.5 6.9 1.2 1.5 8.1 0.8 8.5 

Repeat Homeowner 84.8 6.0 2.3 1.3 5.2 0.4 26.6 

Seasonal Home 65.3 7.3 3.6 0.7 23.1 0.0 1.1 

Relative Home 65.7 18.9 6.1 0.0 9.4 0.0 0.5 

Investment Home 56.9 8.9 0.7 15.1 17.0 1.5 2.0 

Refinance 2 85.5 5.2 1.4 2.3 5.4 0.2 61.2 

Homeowner Cashout3 87.2 4.1 1.6 2.5 4.5 0.1 16.8 

Homeowner Regular 86.7 5.3 1.4 1.4 5.1 0.2 39.7 

Seasonal Home 73.8 5.8 1.5 1.4 17.5 0.0 0.8 

Relative Home 78.3 5.0 1.6 6.7 8.4 0.0 0.5 

Investment Home 66.6 10.5 0.7 12.0 9.9 0.2 3.4 

Property Type

Single-family Detached House 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 84.0 

Townhouse, Row House, or Villa 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.7 

Mobile or Manufactured Home 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.7 

Two-to-Four Unit Dwelling 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 2.2 

Condo, Apartment House, or Co-op 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 6.0 

Other 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.3 

All Respondents 84.0 5.7 1.7 2.2 6.0 0.3 100.0 

Notes: 1. Credit score, loan size, mortgage term to maturity, and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A 

homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

2. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the prior mortgage amount or a if the mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, the mortgage is classified as a cashout refinance.

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Characteristics Property Type Share of

All Loans

Table 5. Property Type, by Demographic and Loan Characteristics (Continued)

(Percentage Distribution)

11
Characteristics Divorced or 

Separated

Married or Had 

a Partner

Death in 

Household

Addition to 

Household

Left 

Household

Disability or 

Illness

Disaster to 

Home

Disaster to 

Work or Job

Moved Less 

than 50 Miles

Moved 50 

Miles or More

Loan Type

Purchase 1 6.4 15.6 2.8 16.3 5.2 7.3 1.2 1.7 62.8 25.8 

First-Time Homeowner2 5.9 20.1 2.6 13.6 3.5 3.8 0.7 1.2 74.3 22.8 

Repeat Homeowner 7.2 15.6 2.9 18.7 5.5 8.6 1.4 2.0 66.5 29.3 

Non-Occupant Owner 1.2 5.1 1.6 4.7 7.5 5.7 1.0 0.5 8.1 6.8 

Refinance 1 4.9 6.6 3.4 11.8 9.8 9.4 2.0 3.0 5.4 3.2 

Homeowner Cashout3 6.2 7.2 3.9 11.3 10.8 10.0 2.3 3.8 6.1 3.0 

Homeowner Regular 4.4 6.1 3.2 11.7 9.2 9.2 1.8 2.8 3.9 2.4 

Non-Occupant Owner 4.8 9.1 3.8 14.5 10.8 8.0 1.8 2.3 14.5 11.4 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 7.4 3.9 6.3 7.1 8.1 10.8 2.5 1.8 22.8 6.7 

$50,001 to $150,000 6.2 10.1 3.7 10.9 8.5 10.1 1.7 2.4 25.5 9.4 

$150,001 to $300,000 5.4 11.1 2.7 15.1 7.8 7.8 1.6 2.7 29.2 13.9 

More than $300,000 3.7 9.1 2.3 17.2 7.4 6.2 1.6 2.5 29.8 14.4 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 7.8 12.6 5.5 17.0 10.1 11.2 2.9 6.3 27.3 12.2 

620 to 679 6.0 12.6 3.6 16.4 8.4 9.5 2.6 3.4 34.4 10.8 

680 to 719 6.6 10.6 3.8 14.2 9.7 11.0 1.3 2.9 29.1 11.8 

720 or Higher 5.0 9.3 2.8 12.6 7.4 7.6 1.5 2.0 25.8 12.3 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 3.5 23.5 1.1 26.7 2.7 3.4 0.7 1.1 53.9 19.1 

36 to 45 6.0 9.6 1.6 18.3 5.1 5.4 1.8 1.9 27.6 11.8 

46 to 55 9.0 6.6 3.2 6.3 14.7 8.5 1.7 3.8 19.9 8.3 

56 to 65 4.8 4.0 4.7 6.9 11.2 13.9 2.4 3.1 15.6 8.9 

Older than 65 1.8 3.1 8.0 4.9 4.3 16.1 2.0 2.6 13.7 11.8 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 5.5 9.3 3.2 12.9 8.5 8.8 1.6 2.5 26.7 11.8 

Hispanic and Non-White 5.4 12.4 3.2 15.2 6.6 8.0 1.7 2.5 30.1 12.4 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 6.5 7.4 5.6 11.1 8.4 12.2 1.6 2.5 25.3 8.8 

Some College 6.9 10.4 4.2 10.9 9.0 10.9 1.7 2.9 26.6 10.0 

College Degree 5.6 11.3 2.3 15.1 7.4 7.4 1.6 2.6 29.5 11.9 

Postgraduate 3.7 9.5 2.5 14.9 7.8 6.5 1.8 2.1 27.2 15.0 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 9.4 7.0 6.4 11.0 7.2 13.6 1.6 4.0 31.8 11.6 

$50,000 to $99,999 6.2 10.4 3.7 12.4 7.2 9.6 1.9 2.6 28.6 11.7 

$100,000 to $174,999 3.8 12.3 1.6 16.2 8.6 6.2 1.6 2.0 25.7 12.8 

$175,000 or More 2.6 8.9 1.2 14.3 9.7 4.6 1.3 1.7 24.2 11.2 

Household Type

Couple 2.1 12.5 1.7 15.5 8.0 8.7 1.5 2.6 26.6 12.6 

Single 17.5 1.8 8.3 6.7 7.9 8.2 2.2 2.3 31.3 9.6 

All Respondents 5.5 10.1 3.2 13.5 8.0 8.6 1.7 2.5 27.6 12.0 

Table 6. Household Life Events, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

(Percent Who Experienced Each Event in the Last Several Years)

12
About 48 percent of respondents were between the ages of 36 and 55 years, and nearly 20 

percent were 56 to 65 years old (See Table 2). Twenty-two percent were 35 years old or younger

and 11 percent were older than 65. By race and ethnicity, 73 percent of respondents reported that 

they were non-Hispanic white with almost six percent reporting they were Hispanic white. 

Asians were nearly six percent of respondents, and Black or African Americans accounted for 

five percent of respondents. Eleven percent indicated that they were mixed or other race. 

More than three-quarters of households in the NSMO are couples with 71 percent reporting they 

were married and seven percent reporting they were living with a partner. More than 20 percent 

of respondents indicated they were single; with 10 percent reporting they were male and 13 

percent reporting they were female. More than 86 percent of borrowers’ households included at 

least one full-time worker. Less than one in five respondents reported that they were active duty 

or veterans of the US military with 82 percent indicating they had no current or past military 

service. 

Comparing respondents to the NSMO with 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) conducted 

by the Federal Reserve, mortgage borrowers tend to have higher incomes than other households. 

For example, about 17 percent of NSMO respondents had total annual family income of less than 

$50,000, while an estimated 16 percent of borrowers in the NSMO reported annual income of 

$175,000 or more.

3

 By comparison, according to estimates from the 2013 SCF, 53 percent of all 

families (including renters and homeowners that did not have a mortgage) had income less than 

$50,000 and eight percent of all families had income of $175,000 or more. Considering only 

families in the SCF who took out a mortgage or home-equity loan in 2013, 17 percent of these

had income less than $50,000 and 19 percent had annual income of at least $175,000. 

Two-thirds of survey respondents had a credit score of 720 or higher, 29 percent had a credit 

score between 620 and 719, and only four percent of respondents had a credit score below 620 

(Table 3). 

The majority of 2013 mortgage loans reported in the survey were for refinancing an existing 

mortgage (Table 3). Sixty-one percent of survey respondents reported they refinanced an 

existing mortgage while 39 percent reported they purchased a home. An estimated 17 percent 

were refinances of the borrower’s primary residence and included borrowing additional money, 

40 percent were refinances of the borrower’s primary residence without extracting equity and the 

remainder were refinancing of investment properties (three percent), seasonal homes (one 

percent), or a relative’s home (one percent). Investors, including owners of seasonal and relative 

homes, represented eight percent of all mortgage borrowers in 2013. Owner occupants 

represented 92 percent of mortgage borrowers, with 35 percent purchasing a home and 57 

percent refinancing an existing mortgage. Single-family properties were the primary property 

type used to collateralize the respondent’s mortgage (Table 5). Eighty-four percent of the 

3 For more about the Survey of Consumer Finances including results from the 2013 SCF, see 

http://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/scf/scfindex.htm 

13
properties reported by survey respondents were single-family detached homes. Condominiums 

and townhouses were each reported by about six percent of respondents, and the remaining four 

percent of properties reported to be mobile homes and 2-, 3-, and 4-unit dwellings.

The estimates in Table 6 indicate that different life events had each affected about five percent of 

all recent mortgage borrowers overall. For example, six percent of all respondents indicated that 

they were divorced or separated in the last few years, and 10 percent indicated they had married 

or obtained a new partner. Roughly nine percent reported experiencing a disability or major 

illness and another three percent reported a disaster that affected either their job. Finally, 28 

percent indicated that they moved less than 50 miles from their previous residence, and 12 

percent indicated that they have moved 50 miles or more from their previous residence. In 

general, each of the life events shown in Table 6 is common among most groups of borrowers.

4.0 The Search for a Mortgage

Mortgage shopping behavior differed significantly by borrower characteristics and by whether 

the consumer was also shopping for a home at the same time as the mortgage. First-time home

buyers differed significantly from repeat home buyers in their mortgage search behavior and 

repeat borrowers differed significantly in their mortgage search behavior depending on whether 

they were refinancing or purchasing a home. Investors (non-occupant owners), both for home 

purchasers and refinancers, differed from other mortgage borrowers.

Searching for a mortgage is often intertwined with the search for a home, and the mortgage 

transaction can be heavily influenced by the housing transaction. Even when the consumer is 

refinancing an existing mortgage, the mortgage search can be confusing and stressful and the 

settlement process and expenses can influence the consumer’s search behavior for the mortgage. 

Selecting a mortgage can be especially complicated for first-time borrowers. This section 

examines how respondents searched for a mortgage, with an emphasis on those buying their first 

property. 

The survey asked about each respondent’s assessment of their prior knowledge about getting a 

mortgage to gauge their familiarity with the basics of mortgage loan terms. Overall only 3 to 10 

percent of respondents reported that they were not at all familiar with either the types of 

mortgages available, the process, interest rate levels, down payment or income requirements or 

the type of credit history that was expected (Table 7). First-time buyers were even less likely to 

indicate that they were familiar with the process of taking out a mortgage, and the types of 

mortgages, or interest rates available compared both to borrowers who had bought a home before 

and to those who refinanced. First-time homebuyers were also much more likely compared to 

other borrowers to indicate that they were not at all familiar with the income required for a 

mortgage, credit history required, down payment, or the amount of money required at closing. 

14
Very Somewhat Not at All

Loan Type

Purchase 1 6.4 12.6 16.0 9.4 9.4 4.2 14.0 20.7 32.6 46.7 

First-Time Homeowner2 12.7 23.7 35.6 18.1 18.9 8.3 27.5 24.4 39.3 36.3 

Repeat Homeowner 5.0 10.1 11.3 7.6 6.9 3.2 10.9 21.6 31.6 46.8 

Non-Occupant Owner 2.2 4.9 3.9 2.3 4.7 1.9 4.5 5.6 23.4 71.0 

Refinance 1 1.3 5.8 2.8 7.4 5.7 2.0 7.3 11.7 27.9 60.4 

Homeowner Cashout3 1.7 6.0 2.8 8.7 6.3 2.0 8.6 14.4 28.7 56.9 

Homeowner Regular 1.1 5.9 2.9 6.8 5.5 2.0 6.9 11.0 27.5 61.5 

Non-Occupant Owner 0.9 3.7 1.4 7.0 4.7 1.7 6.3 7.9 29.0 63.1 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 6.8 13.8 9.5 11.5 10.4 5.4 13.7 17.5 33.8 48.7 

$50,001 to $150,000 4.6 11.3 9.4 10.4 8.7 3.3 11.7 16.6 30.4 53.0 

$150,001 to $300,000 2.6 7.3 7.2 7.4 6.6 2.7 8.6 15.3 28.3 56.3 

More than $300,000 1.1 3.5 5.7 4.2 4.0 1.6 8.1 11.5 30.5 58.0 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 5.2 20.8 15.8 19.2 11.2 8.3 21.9 41.7 36.0 22.3 

620 to 679 5.3 10.2 10.0 10.9 8.7 4.4 12.3 27.0 41.0 32.1 

680 to 719 5.9 11.1 10.9 11.1 9.9 3.1 12.6 21.1 36.7 42.2 

720 or Higher 2.1 6.7 6.3 6.2 5.9 2.1 8.0 9.6 25.3 65.1 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 7.4 14.7 20.0 11.6 11.7 4.9 17.0 17.8 33.5 48.7 

36 to 45 3.3 8.0 6.1 7.8 5.5 2.5 9.5 16.3 32.5 51.2 

46 to 55 1.1 4.3 3.2 5.7 5.0 2.0 5.6 14.7 27.3 58.1 

56 to 65 1.9 7.8 3.8 7.2 5.9 1.9 7.6 13.9 26.2 59.9 

Older than 65 2.4 7.2 5.1 9.2 8.3 3.1 10.2 11.0 28.0 61.0 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 2.7 7.5 6.9 6.9 6.1 2.6 9.0 11.6 29.3 59.1 

Hispanic and Non-White 4.8 11.0 10.5 11.5 9.7 3.4 12.3 24.8 30.8 44.3 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 5.9 14.1 11.3 16.1 12.2 5.2 15.2 22.4 31.8 45.7 

Some College 3.8 8.9 7.7 9.6 6.8 2.8 10.5 16.9 33.1 50.0 

College Degree 3.5 8.3 8.3 7.5 7.4 3.1 9.4 13.9 30.7 55.4 

Postgraduate 1.5 5.8 6.1 4.5 5.0 1.7 7.9 12.3 25.0 62.6 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 7.4 16.9 15.5 17.2 13.6 5.8 18.5 26.5 39.3 34.2 

$50,000 to $99,999 4.2 9.5 8.3 8.9 7.5 2.9 10.2 17.3 30.8 51.9 

$100,000 to $174,999 1.0 4.9 4.7 4.7 4.6 1.7 6.9 10.4 27.3 62.4 

$175,000 or More 0.7 3.0 4.4 2.7 3.6 1.7 5.2 6.4 21.2 72.4 

Household Type

Couple 2.6 7.2 6.7 6.9 5.8 2.5 8.7 14.3 28.8 56.9 

Single 5.5 12.9 12.1 12.8 11.9 4.1 14.2 18.4 33.0 48.6 

All Respondents 3.3 8.4 7.9 8.2 7.1 2.8 9.9 15.2 29.7 55.1 

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

Prior Knowledge (Percent Not at All Familiar with Each Feature) Concerned About Qualifying

(Percentage Distribution)

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Characteristics

Table 7. Prior Knowledge About Getting a Mortgage and Concern About Qualifying, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

Interest

Rates 

Available

Mortgage 

Types 

Available

Process of 

Taking Out 

Mortgage

Down Payment 

to Qualify

Income 

Needed to 

Qualify

Credit

History or 

Score

Money Needed 

at Closing

15
One fifth of young borrowers 35 years old or younger indicated that they were not at all familiar 

with the process of taking out a mortgage. Slightly more than 17 percent of households with less 

than $50,000 in income indicated they were not at all familiar with the down payment required to 

purchase a house or the amount of money needed at closing. For borrowers with credit scores 

below 620, more than one-fifth reported that they were not at all familiar with the types of 

mortgages available. 

The percentage reporting they were not at all familiar with each of the facets of the mortgage 

process generally declined as loan amount, education, credit score, and income increased. The

number of persons feeling unfamiliar with the process were also comparatively high among 

Hispanic or non-white borrowers as well as for single-headed households. 

These same patterns were true for the shares of borrowers that were concerned about qualifying 

for a mortgage. For example, approximately 12 percent of non-Hispanic white borrowers 

reported that they were very concerned with qualifying compared to nearly 25 percent of 

Hispanic or non-white borrowers. The difference in borrowers concerned about qualifying for a 

mortgage was starkest by credit score: 42 percent of those with scores below 620 were very 

concerned about qualifying, whereas only 10 percent of borrowers with scores of at least 720 

were reportedly very concerned. 

A substantial proportion of borrowers that refinanced their mortgage or looked for investment 

property had a firm idea about the type of mortgage they wanted (Table 8). The percentage of 

borrowers who said they had a firm idea increased with age and credit score. Fourteen percent of 

first-time buyers had little idea of what type of mortgage they wanted and slightly more than half

had some idea, while only 35 percent of first- time buyers had a firm idea of the mortgage they 

wanted. 

By the end of the process of getting their mortgage, greater than half of first-time buyers and 

those that refinanced a mortgage felt they were somewhat able to explain the process of taking 

out a mortgage and 40 percent felt they were very confident in their ability to explain the 

mortgage process. For borrowers with $175,000 or more in income, nearly six out of 10 were 

very confident in their ability to explain the process of taking out a mortgage, while fewer than 

four out of 10 borrowers in the lowest income range (less than $50,000 in income), were very 

confident in their ability to explain the process. Seven percent of households with incomes less 

than $50,000 and nine percent of households in which the respondent had a high school 

education or less were not at all confident about their ability to explain the process of taking out a 

mortgage. 

Slightly more than 40 percent of all respondents reported having a difficult time explaining the 

difference between a prime and a subprime loan. This sizable share, however, might be expected 

since there is not a single definition of a subprime loan. The share of borrowers that were not at 

all confident in their ability to explain prime versus subprime loans exceeded 50 percent among 

first-time buyers, borrowers 35 years old or younger, borrowers taking out loans of $50,000 or 

16
Firm Idea Some Idea Little Idea Very Somewhat Not at All

Loan Type

Purchase 1 54.0 38.8 7.2 47.0 49.4 3.6 5.7 45.3 26.2 31.9 6.9 

First-Time Homeowner2 34.9 51.0 14.0 40.5 56.4 3.0 7.8 57.7 31.4 44.7 9.8 

Repeat Homeowner 57.8 36.4 5.8 47.3 48.8 3.9 5.5 43.4 25.7 29.8 6.3 

Non-Occupant Owner 70.6 27.5 1.9 60.2 37.0 2.8 2.6 30.0 17.5 17.4 4.4 

Refinance 1 72.0 25.3 2.7 46.7 49.3 4.1 3.7 37.9 23.6 24.2 6.2 

Homeowner Cashout3 69.8 27.5 2.7 45.2 49.4 5.4 4.6 39.5 25.1 23.4 6.0 

Homeowner Regular 72.9 24.4 2.7 45.7 50.8 3.6 3.5 38.2 23.8 25.7 6.4 

Non-Occupant Owner 72.7 24.7 2.6 59.9 36.1 4.0 2.9 29.5 16.9 14.6 4.8 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 60.5 31.6 7.9 36.8 56.2 7.0 10.4 51.3 35.1 43.2 10.1 

$50,001 to $150,000 63.0 31.6 5.4 41.8 53.2 5.0 6.2 47.3 28.8 34.8 7.2 

$150,001 to $300,000 65.3 30.3 4.4 49.1 47.6 3.4 3.7 39.0 22.7 23.3 6.1 

More than $300,000 69.8 28.3 1.9 54.8 43.2 2.0 1.6 28.4 17.6 16.0 4.8 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 52.3 40.6 7.2 37.0 56.5 6.4 5.8 50.1 36.3 41.6 9.4 

620 to 679 55.1 37.0 7.9 42.6 51.9 5.4 7.2 47.6 28.5 34.8 8.6 

680 to 719 60.5 33.7 5.7 42.9 52.2 4.8 6.8 42.6 28.4 33.4 6.8 

720 or Higher 69.0 27.7 3.2 49.2 47.6 3.2 3.3 38.3 22.2 23.3 5.7 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 50.5 41.1 8.4 43.8 52.6 3.5 5.2 55.1 30.3 38.0 7.2 

36 to 45 62.8 32.0 5.2 44.6 51.7 3.7 4.5 42.1 27.3 27.3 6.4 

46 to 55 70.5 26.7 2.8 49.6 47.5 2.8 2.6 34.0 20.0 21.3 5.6 

56 to 65 71.9 25.8 2.3 49.5 46.5 4.0 4.8 35.4 21.5 23.7 5.9 

Older than 65 74.4 22.9 2.6 46.2 46.6 7.2 6.9 33.8 23.5 24.7 7.8 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 66.8 29.4 3.8 47.1 49.5 3.4 3.9 39.8 24.5 25.7 5.5 

Hispanic and Non-White 60.2 33.5 6.2 46.0 48.9 5.1 6.1 43.2 24.9 31.2 8.9 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 58.8 33.6 7.6 34.1 56.5 9.4 11.4 49.4 34.9 46.3 13.0 

Some College 63.1 31.2 5.7 42.6 53.5 3.9 5.2 44.2 25.5 31.3 7.0 

College Degree 64.5 31.4 4.1 49.0 47.8 3.2 3.4 40.3 24.2 24.4 5.3 

Postgraduate 69.9 27.6 2.5 52.9 44.7 2.4 2.4 34.9 20.0 19.2 4.6 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 54.8 36.3 8.9 36.9 54.5 8.7 9.7 55.3 36.6 45.6 10.4 

$50,000 to $99,999 62.0 33.1 4.9 41.9 54.4 3.7 4.6 46.0 27.0 30.9 6.5 

$100,000 to $174,999 70.0 27.1 2.9 51.6 45.7 2.7 3.1 34.7 20.5 20.1 5.6 

$175,000 or More 74.5 24.3 1.2 60.7 38.0 1.3 1.0 23.1 13.1 11.0 3.6 

Household Type

Couple 66.7 29.5 3.8 48.1 48.6 3.4 4.3 39.2 22.9 25.2 6.0 

Single 59.2 33.9 6.9 42.4 51.9 5.8 5.2 46.2 30.6 34.3 7.9 

All Respondents 65.0 30.5 4.5 46.8 49.3 3.9 4.5 40.8 24.6 27.2 6.4 

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

Table 8. Knowledge About the Mortgage Borrower Wanted and the Mortgage Process, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

Idea About the Mortgage Wanted Mortgage Knowledge (Percent Not at All Able to Explain Each Feature)

(Percentage Distribution)

 Ability to Explain Mortgage Process

(Percentage Distribution)

Characteristics

Fixed Versus 

Adjustable 

Rate

Prime Versus 

Subprime

Interest Rate 

Versus

APR

Amortization 

of

Loan

Consequence 

of

Not Paying

17
less, borrowers with credit scores of less than 620, or borrowers with household income of less 

than $50,000. Overall about one- quarter of borrowers reported that they could not explain 

amortization or the difference between the interest rate and APR on a loan. The percentages that 

reportedly were not able to explain these details of mortgages were generally highest among 

borrowers with a high school diploma or less education, first-time buyers, those taking out loans 

of $50,000 or less, those with credit scores below 620, those with household incomes below 

$50,000, single households, and Hispanic or non-white borrowers.

5.0 Selecting a Mortgage

Selecting a mortgage requires the borrower to balance many features that affect the total cost of 

owning a home. Table 9 shows that about two-thirds of respondents went directly to a lender for 

their mortgage rather than to a mortgage broker. For the smallest loan size, $50,000 or less, 

nearly 85 percent of borrowers went directly to the lender. Borrowers who obtained loans 

greater than $300,000 and homeowners who were repeat buyers were relatively more likely than 

other groups to use a broker, with more than 40 percent of borrowers in these groups reporting 

they used a broker. Borrowers initiated contact with the lender or broker 69 percent of the time,

lenders initiated contact 16 percent, and a third party initiated contact for 15 percent of 

respondents. The share of loans for which a third party initiated contact was more than double 

(31 percent) for home purchase loans than for all respondents. Just13 percent of first-time

homebuyers and 4 percent of overall respondents used housing counselors or courses on home 

ownership. 

The survey asked the number of lenders a borrower seriously considered when selecting a 

mortgage. Table 10 shows that more than half of all borrowers, 51 percent, considered applying 

to only one lender. One-third, 34 percent, seriously considered two lenders and 15 percent 

considered more than two lenders. The percentage of borrowers that considered just one lender 

declined with their annual income, from nearly 60 percent for those with income of $50,000 or 

less, to 44 percent for those with income of $175,000 or more. Nearly 52 percent of nonHispanic white borrowers seriously considered only one lender, while 47 percent non-white or 

Hispanic borrowers did so. 

When looking at actual mortgage applications, 81 percent of borrowers applied to just one 

lender. First-time purchasers were the least likely to apply to just one lender at 68 percent. Not 

quite one-quarter of first-time purchasers applied to two lenders compared with 15 percent for 

borrowers as a whole. Borrowers aged 35 years old or younger reported applying to two lenders 

20 percent of the time. The overall rate of applicants who applied to three lenders was just three 

percent and less than one percent reportedly applied to more than three lenders. The share of 

non-Hispanic white borrowers who applied to only one lender was about five percentage points 

higher than the share for non-white or Hispanic borrowers (82 percent and 78 percent, 

respectively). While some consumers applied to multiple lenders to get better terms, others went

“shopping” because they got denied. It is difficult to know if younger borrowers, for example, 

18
 Housing Counseling

(Percent Who Received)

Directly Through Broker Borrower Lender Third Party

Loan Type

Purchase 1 58.9 39.9 63.4 5.7 30.9 6.7 

First-Time Homeowner2 63.7 35.5 61.4 7.2 31.4 13.3 

Repeat Homeowner 56.2 42.4 62.1 5.5 32.4 5.3 

Non-Occupant Owner 68.0 32.0 78.2 3.8 18.1 1.2 

Refinance 1 73.1 26.8 73.0 22.1 5.0 2.4 

Homeowner Cashout3 70.2 29.8 77.9 16.7 5.4 3.7 

Homeowner Regular 73.6 26.3 71.6 23.5 4.9 2.1 

Non-Occupant Owner 80.0 20.0 66.5 29.1 4.4 0.5 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 84.7 14.8 72.1 17.8 10.1 4.8 

$50,001 to $150,000 73.1 26.6 68.4 17.5 14.2 5.1 

$150,001 to $300,000 64.5 34.7 68.7 15.1 16.2 3.8 

More than $300,000 59.2 40.5 71.9 12.8 15.4 2.4 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 63.6 35.3 58.7 24.8 16.5 8.6 

620 to 679 61.7 37.5 61.2 19.4 19.4 6.7 

680 to 719 65.7 33.9 62.5 19.5 18.0 7.1 

720 or Higher 69.6 30.0 73.2 13.5 13.3 2.6 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 62.0 37.2 67.0 7.8 25.2 7.7 

36 to 45 65.0 34.6 69.2 15.8 14.9 4.1 

46 to 55 67.9 31.8 72.0 17.5 10.4 2.9 

56 to 65 72.7 26.8 69.2 19.5 11.3 2.6 

Older than 65 74.9 24.8 67.8 20.6 11.6 2.3 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 69.0 30.7 71.4 14.9 13.7 3.1 

Hispanic and Non-White 64.1 34.9 63.6 18.0 18.4 6.9 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 69.1 30.4 65.2 21.0 13.9 6.3 

Some College 68.1 31.4 65.6 17.8 16.6 5.5 

College Degree 66.2 33.4 71.2 13.9 14.9 3.1 

Postgraduate 68.4 31.1 71.6 14.0 14.4 3.3 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 69.9 29.6 62.2 18.7 19.1 9.4 

$50,000 to $99,999 68.6 30.9 68.2 16.9 14.9 4.3 

$100,000 to $174,999 65.8 33.7 72.0 13.9 14.1 2.0 

$175,000 or More 66.4 33.4 74.6 13.0 12.4 1.6 

Household Type

Couple 67.4 32.1 70.3 15.1 14.6 3.5 

Single 68.6 31.1 65.5 17.9 16.6 6.3 

All Respondents 67.6 31.9 69.3 15.7 15.0 4.1 

Table 9. Mortage Application Channel, First Contact, and Housing Counseling,

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 

850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior 

mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a 

cashout refinance.

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

Mortgage Application Contact Initiated by

(Percent Who Applied) (Percentage Distribution)

Characteristics

by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

19
1 2 3 4 5 or More 1 2 3 4 5 or More

Loan Type

Purchase 1 46.3 38.4 12.9 1.5 0.9 75.1 19.8 4.2 0.6 0.3

First-Time Homeowner2 44.1 38.7 14.5 2.1 0.6 67.7 23.6 6.7 1.6 0.4

Repeat Homeowner 46.8 38.9 12.1 1.3 1.0 76.6 19.3 3.5 0.4 0.2

Non-Occupant Owner 48.2 34.2 15.0 1.6 1.0 82.0 13.9 3.7 0.0 0.5

Refinance 1 53.6 31.0 12.3 1.7 1.3 84.6 12.5 2.1 0.6 0.2

Homeowner Cashout3 52.3 33.0 11.5 1.9 1.4 84.1 13.2 1.8 0.6 0.3

Homeowner Regular 54.5 30.6 12.2 1.5 1.2 85.3 12.0 1.9 0.5 0.2

Non-Occupant Owner 50.8 27.8 16.4 2.4 2.6 80.7 13.6 4.2 1.5 0.0

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 58.2 31.8 7.9 0.7 1.5 85.1 13.0 1.3 0.0 0.5

$50,001 to $150,000 56.9 29.4 11.4 1.3 1.0 82.3 13.9 3.1 0.6 0.2

$150,001 to $300,000 47.7 36.0 13.7 1.6 1.1 79.7 16.2 3.1 0.8 0.2

More than $300,000 42.6 39.8 13.5 2.4 1.6 80.0 16.9 2.3 0.4 0.4

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 59.8 25.8 11.5 2.1 0.8 80.6 15.2 3.0 0.4 0.8

620 to 679 53.7 32.5 11.5 1.0 1.4 74.9 21.0 3.5 0.1 0.5

680 to 719 52.6 35.8 9.1 1.4 1.1 80.2 16.4 2.4 0.8 0.1

720 or Higher 49.2 34.3 13.6 1.7 1.2 82.4 13.8 2.9 0.7 0.2

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 47.4 35.9 14.0 1.6 1.2 74.2 20.3 4.2 1.0 0.2

36 to 45 48.6 37.1 12.3 1.1 1.0 79.8 16.5 2.8 0.6 0.2

46 to 55 49.7 34.0 13.2 1.6 1.6 83.1 13.8 2.4 0.5 0.2

56 to 65 53.6 31.1 11.5 2.4 1.4 84.2 12.8 2.2 0.5 0.3

Older than 65 59.5 27.9 10.8 1.4 0.3 86.1 10.4 2.8 0.5 0.2

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 52.4 32.7 12.4 1.4 1.2 82.2 14.7 2.5 0.6 0.2

Hispanic and Non-White 46.5 37.0 13.1 2.2 1.2 77.6 17.0 4.1 0.8 0.5

Respondent Education

High School or Less 63.9 27.7 5.9 1.7 0.8 82.4 15.2 1.5 0.6 0.4

Some College 54.4 32.3 11.3 1.0 1.0 81.8 14.6 2.9 0.6 0.1

College Degree 49.6 34.6 12.8 1.9 1.2 80.1 15.9 3.0 0.7 0.3

Postgraduate 43.8 37.0 16.1 1.7 1.4 80.6 15.2 3.3 0.6 0.2

Household Income

Less than $50,000 59.8 27.8 10.2 1.5 0.7 80.5 15.1 3.4 1.0 0.0

$50,000 to $99,999 51.4 33.9 11.9 1.5 1.3 80.4 15.7 3.0 0.5 0.4

$100,000 to $174,999 48.3 34.7 14.2 1.6 1.3 80.6 16.0 2.5 0.7 0.1

$175,000 or More 43.8 39.3 13.8 1.8 1.3 83.3 13.2 2.8 0.4 0.3

Household Type

Couple 49.5 34.7 12.9 1.7 1.2 81.0 15.6 2.6 0.6 0.3

Single 55.4 31.0 11.5 1.2 0.9 80.6 14.4 4.0 0.7 0.2

All Respondents 50.8 33.9 12.6 1.6 1.2 80.9 15.3 2.9 0.6 0.2

Table 10. Number of Lenders Considered and Applied to,

Characteristics

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 

850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior 

mortgage in the credit files.

by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a 

cashout refinance.

Number of Lenders Seriously Considered Number of Lenders Applied to

(Percentage Distribution) (Percentage Distribution)

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

20
are savvier about shopping or just had to apply to more lenders before they found one to approve 

them. 

Borrowers were asked how important a variety of factors were in selecting a lender or broker. 

Table 11 lists the responses to these questions. Borrowers indicated that the lender’s reputation, 

the lenders’ location, and having an established banking relationship with a lender were 

important considerations in choosing a lender or broker. In particular, the lender’s reputation 

was very important to 40 percent and somewhat important to 27 percent of borrowers. Having a 

local office or branch nearby was very important to 36 percent of borrowers and somewhat 

important to 25 percent, and the banking relationship was very important to 46 percent of 

borrowers and somewhat important to an additional 24 percent. 

Borrowers also identified factors that were unimportant when selecting a lender. For example, 

whether the lender spoke the borrower’s primary language (91 percent), was recommended by a 

website (86 percent), or was a credit union (67 percent) were reported as not at all important by 

borrowers. Home purchasers were nearly twice as likely (70 percent) as those who refinanced 

(39 percent) to report that a lender used previously was unimportant, and purchasers were less 

likely than those refinancing loans to say that an agent’s recommendation was unimportant (43 

percent and 86 percent, respectively).

More than half of borrowers refinancing a mortgage reported that using a lender with an 

established banking relationship was important (Table 12). More than three in 10 first-time

homebuyers and of borrowers aged 35 years or younger found recommendations from a friend, 

relative, or co-worker important in selecting a lender or broker. Home purchasers were much 

more likely than those refinancing an existing mortgage to report that recommendations from a

real estate agent or a home builder were important. 

The NSMO asked how important a variety of mortgage terms or features were in the borrower’s 

selecting a mortgage. A low interest rate was very important to 96 percent of borrowers and a 

low Annual Percentage Rate (APR) was very important to 82 percent (Table 13). Low closing 

fees were very important to 71 percent of borrowers and somewhat important for 24 percent 

more. Only 50 percent overall reported that a low down payment was very important. However, 

60 percent or more of first-time home buyers (60 percent), borrowers with income below 

$50,000 (63 percent), borrowers with at most a high school education (67 percent), and 

borrowers with low credit scores (68 percent) said a low down payment was very important in 

choosing the mortgage (Table 14). 

A low monthly payment was very important to 65 percent overall of borrowers. However, over 

70 percent of borrowers with a high school education or less, and those with household income 

below $50,000 as well as borrowers with credit scores below 620 reported that low monthly 

payments were very important. 

21
Very Somewhat Not at All

All Mortgages

Established banking relationship 45.9 24.1 30.0 

Local office 35.7 24.8 39.5 

Used previously 35.1 13.7 51.2 

Lender is a personal friend 8.3 10.0 81.7 

Lender operates online 18.7 24.7 56.6 

Lender is a credit union 17.2 15.7 67.1 

Recommended by a friend/relative/co-worker 19.5 18.2 62.4 

Recommended by an agent/home builder 16.4 14.4 69.2 

Recommended by a website 3.4 10.3 86.3 

Lender reputation 39.7 27.3 33.0 

Spoke borrower's primary language (not English) 5.8 3.5 90.7 

Purchases

Established banking relationship 38.6 25.5 35.9 

Local office 38.9 26.7 34.4 

Used previously 18.3 11.2 70.5 

Lender is a personal friend 9.1 12.2 78.7 

Lender operates online 16.4 23.8 59.8 

Lender is a credit union 15.5 17.7 66.8 

Recommended by a friend/relative/co-worker 26.4 21.7 52.0 

Recommended by an agent/home builder 34.0 23.3 42.7 

Recommended by a website 3.1 10.0 87.0 

Lender reputation 39.9 27.5 32.6 

Spoke borrower's primary language (not English) 6.0 3.5 90.5 

Refinances

Established banking relationship 50.6 23.2 26.2 

Local office 33.7 23.6 42.7 

Used previously 45.8 15.3 38.9 

Lender is a personal friend 7.8 8.6 83.5 

Lender operates online 20.2 25.2 54.6 

Lender is a credit union 18.3 14.4 67.3 

Recommended by a friend/relative/co-worker 15.1 15.9 68.9 

Recommended by an agent/home builder 5.2 8.8 86.0 

Recommended by a website 3.6 10.6 85.8 

Lender reputation 39.5 27.2 33.3 

Spoke borrower's primary language (not English) 5.6 3.5 90.9 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

(Percentage Distribution)

Table 11. Importance of Decision Factors in Choosing the Lender

Factors Importance of Factors

22
Very Somewhat Not at All Very Somewhat Not at All Very Somewhat Not at All

Loan Type

Purchase 1 38.6 25.5 35.9 26.4 21.7 52.0 34.0 23.3 42.7 

First-Time Homeowner2 37.7 26.8 35.5 34.8 25.6 39.6 36.4 22.5 41.1 

Repeat Homeowner 38.0 25.3 36.6 25.3 20.7 54.1 35.4 23.4 41.2 

Non-Occupant Owner 45.0 23.2 31.8 14.7 19.6 65.7 18.5 24.3 57.2 

Refinance 1 50.6 23.2 26.2 15.1 15.9 68.9 5.2 8.8 86.0 

Homeowner Cashout3 50.0 22.5 27.5 14.6 17.6 67.8 6.6 9.5 83.9 

Homeowner Regular 50.8 23.2 26.0 16.0 15.7 68.3 4.6 8.8 86.6 

Non-Occupant Owner 50.8 26.4 22.8 9.8 12.0 78.2 5.5 6.2 88.3 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 58.6 21.2 20.2 11.5 11.6 76.9 10.0 9.6 80.5 

$50,001 to $150,000 49.7 23.9 26.4 17.9 16.3 65.8 14.5 12.9 72.6 

$150,001 to $300,000 42.8 24.7 32.5 20.1 19.4 60.5 18.5 15.1 66.3 

More than $300,000 42.0 23.7 34.2 23.0 20.9 56.1 17.0 17.2 65.9 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 44.1 22.2 33.7 20.3 12.8 66.8 14.9 9.6 75.5 

620 to 679 39.9 26.3 33.8 19.7 19.2 61.2 23.9 14.9 61.2 

680 to 719 44.8 27.1 28.1 21.5 18.7 59.8 19.1 14.6 66.3 

720 or Higher 47.6 23.1 29.3 18.9 18.2 62.9 14.2 14.6 71.2 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 38.8 30.5 30.7 31.5 25.2 43.3 29.7 22.4 47.9 

36 to 45 43.2 26.6 30.2 21.0 22.4 56.6 14.9 17.1 68.0 

46 to 55 49.4 21.7 29.0 16.5 16.8 66.7 11.7 12.8 75.5 

56 to 65 49.3 20.8 29.9 13.0 12.4 74.5 11.4 8.3 80.3 

Older than 65 52.3 17.3 30.4 10.4 8.0 81.6 12.0 7.4 80.6 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 46.0 23.7 30.3 18.3 16.7 65.0 15.6 12.7 71.6 

Hispanic and Non-White 45.7 25.1 29.2 22.7 22.0 55.3 18.4 18.9 62.7 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 52.3 24.0 23.7 16.6 11.5 71.8 13.9 10.7 75.4 

Some College 46.7 22.9 30.4 16.3 16.6 67.1 16.3 13.3 70.4 

College Degree 44.2 25.5 30.3 22.5 20.2 57.3 16.6 15.5 67.9 

Postgraduate 44.7 23.4 31.9 19.6 19.7 60.6 17.2 15.5 67.3 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 49.4 23.7 26.9 19.8 17.0 63.2 18.7 14.9 66.4 

$50,000 to $99,999 47.0 24.0 29.0 19.1 17.7 63.2 16.0 13.4 70.6 

$100,000 to $174,999 42.9 24.8 32.3 19.5 18.4 62.1 16.4 14.7 68.9 

$175,000 or More 45.1 23.6 31.3 20.0 20.2 59.8 14.7 15.8 69.4 

Household Type

Couple 45.6 24.2 30.1 19.2 18.3 62.5 16.0 14.4 69.5 

Single 47.0 23.6 29.4 20.3 17.8 61.9 17.5 14.4 68.1 

All Respondents 45.9 24.1 30.0 19.5 18.2 62.4 16.4 14.4 69.2 

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

Characteristics Established Banking Relationship Recommended by Friend/Relative/Co-worker Recommended by Agent/Home Builder

Table 12. Importance of Decision Factors in Choosing the Lender, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

(Percentage Distribution)

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

23
Very Somewhat Not at All

All Mortgages

Low interest rate 95.6 3.9 0.5 

Low APR 82.1 11.6 6.3 

Low closing fees 70.6 24.2 5.2 

Low down payment 49.8 22.9 27.3 

Low monthly payment 65.1 24.5 10.4 

Fixed interest rate 87.4 7.8 4.7 

Term less than 30 years 34.6 24.1 41.4 

No mortgage insurance 40.3 23.9 35.8 

Purchases

Low interest rate 92.7 6.4 0.9 

Low APR 78.5 14.7 6.7 

Low closing fees 63.0 30.4 6.7 

Low down payment 47.7 28.6 23.7 

Low monthly payment 59.4 29.1 11.5 

Fixed interest rate 85.2 10.1 4.8 

Term less than 30 years 21.8 27.3 50.8 

No mortgage insurance 34.0 26.8 39.1 

Refinances

Low interest rate 97.4 2.3 0.3 

Low APR 84.3 9.6 6.1 

Low closing fees 75.4 20.4 4.2 

Low down payment 51.1 19.3 29.5 

Low monthly payment 68.7 21.6 9.7 

Fixed interest rate 88.8 6.4 4.7 

Term less than 30 years 42.6 22.0 35.4 

No mortgage insurance 44.2 22.1 33.7 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

(Percentage Distribution)

Table 13. Importance of Decision Factors in Choosing the Mortgage

Factors Importance of Factors

24
Very Somewhat Not at All Very Somewhat Not at All Very Somewhat Not at All

Loan Type

Purchase 1 47.7 28.6 23.7 59.4 29.1 11.5 34.0 26.8 39.1 

First-Time Homeowner2 59.9 25.6 14.6 65.8 27.1 7.0 28.5 28.1 43.4 

Repeat Homeowner 46.3 28.1 25.7 59.4 28.2 12.4 34.4 26.8 38.8 

Non-Occupant Owner 29.6 39.2 31.2 44.0 40.6 15.3 44.6 24.2 31.2 

Refinance 1 51.1 19.3 29.5 68.7 21.6 9.7 44.2 22.1 33.7 

Homeowner Cashout3 52.3 18.0 29.7 68.2 21.6 10.2 43.9 22.5 33.6 

Homeowner Regular 51.1 19.8 29.0 69.3 21.3 9.4 43.9 21.8 34.3 

Non-Occupant Owner 46.9 19.9 33.2 65.1 24.1 10.8 48.3 22.6 29.0 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 54.7 20.7 24.6 69.7 17.5 12.8 36.5 20.8 42.7 

$50,001 to $150,000 55.2 20.1 24.7 69.4 22.1 8.5 39.0 23.0 38.0 

$150,001 to $300,000 50.6 23.9 25.4 64.9 25.5 9.6 41.2 26.2 32.6 

More than $300,000 35.3 27.3 37.4 55.2 28.7 16.1 41.8 21.6 36.6 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 68.4 14.5 17.2 78.2 15.1 6.8 32.5 22.2 45.3 

620 to 679 67.3 17.1 15.6 75.6 18.2 6.2 33.6 28.3 38.2 

680 to 719 61.7 21.3 17.0 72.3 20.7 7.0 35.2 25.2 39.6 

720 or Higher 42.2 25.1 32.8 60.4 27.3 12.3 43.4 22.8 33.8 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 55.2 27.1 17.7 66.0 25.7 8.3 32.6 28.1 39.2 

36 to 45 51.1 25.7 23.1 62.2 26.7 11.1 39.8 25.6 34.7 

46 to 55 48.6 22.5 28.9 62.8 27.2 10.1 44.5 23.8 31.7 

56 to 65 48.1 18.3 33.6 68.2 20.3 11.5 44.6 20.1 35.2 

Older than 65 41.7 17.7 40.7 68.8 19.0 12.1 39.4 19.2 41.4 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 47.5 22.9 29.6 63.9 25.4 10.8 40.5 23.4 36.1 

Hispanic and Non-White 56.0 23.0 21.0 68.3 22.2 9.5 39.6 25.4 35.0 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 66.7 15.9 17.4 77.0 15.5 7.6 39.7 19.5 40.9 

Some College 55.8 21.1 23.1 71.4 21.1 7.5 38.8 24.2 37.0 

College Degree 48.9 23.1 28.0 63.4 25.6 10.9 40.6 24.9 34.5 

Postgraduate 39.0 27.1 33.9 57.0 29.6 13.4 41.3 24.4 34.3 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 63.1 17.9 19.0 78.4 16.2 5.4 32.7 24.0 43.2 

$50,000 to $99,999 56.3 20.5 23.2 69.9 22.2 7.9 39.0 25.0 36.0 

$100,000 to $174,999 43.5 27.1 29.4 60.1 28.3 11.6 44.3 24.2 31.5 

$175,000 or More 30.9 26.6 42.6 47.8 32.2 20.0 44.5 20.7 34.8 

Household Type

Couple 48.2 23.6 28.2 63.5 25.2 11.2 41.2 23.7 35.1 

Single 55.6 20.5 23.9 70.5 21.9 7.6 37.2 24.6 38.2 

All Respondents 49.8 22.9 27.3 65.1 24.5 10.4 40.3 23.9 35.8 

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

Characteristics Low Down Payment Low Monthly Payment No Mortgage Insurance

Table 14. Importance of Decision Factors in Choosing the Mortgage, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

(Percentage Distribution)

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

25
6.0 During the Application Process

The NSMO found that many lenders requested that the borrower provide additional information 

or perform additional steps after the initial loan application. Less than one-fifth of respondents 

were asked to add another cosigner to the mortgage in order to qualify (Table 15). This 

estimated percentage did not vary substantially across most demographic and loan-characteristic

groups, ranging from about 14 percent to 23 percent for most borrowers. An exception was 

single households, who were much less likely to be asked to add a co-signer. For single

households, only three percent were asked to add a cosigner. By contrast, 23 percent of couples 

were asked to add a co-signer, which might have included the spouse or partner when only one 

party had applied for the mortgage. 

Nearly 18 percent of borrowers reported being asked to resolve problems that appeared on a 

credit report. The share of borrowers that fixed problems with their credit reports differed 

sharply by credit score: about one third of borrowers with credit scores of 679 or lower addressed

an issue, compared with 11 percent of borrowers with scores 720 or greater. The share of 

borrowers that resolved credit-report issues also declined with education, falling from about 22 

percent among borrowers in high school or less and some college to 14 percent among those in 

the postgraduate group. 

Roughly one in five borrowers had to delay their closing date. Delays were somewhat more 

common for purchase mortgages than for refinances. The fraction that reported the closing date 

had been delayed ranged from 25 to 28 percent across the three groups of purchasers compared 

with a range of 16 to 22 percent for borrowers in the refinance groups. 

Delays in closing may have arisen from needing to answer follow-up questions, having to redo 

paperwork, or needing an additional appraisal. Almost 60 percent of respondents reported 

answering follow-up requests for more information, but only one-fifth reported having to redo 

paperwork during the application process. The fraction of borrowers that redid paperwork was 

fairly steady across groups defined by demographics and loan characteristics. In contrast, the 

estimated fraction that answered follow-up questions varied more noticeably. Nearly two- thirds 

of borrowers with loans of more than $300,000 had to answer follow-up requests, for example, 

while just 53 percent of loans of less than $50,000 involved such requests. The percentage of 

borrowers that responded to follow-up requests also rose with income and education, but the 

percentage fell with credit score. Purchasers were also more likely to have answered follow-up 

questions than those who refinanced. 

Very few borrowers—just seven percent—reported needing multiple appraisals. The percentage 

of borrowers that required multiple appraisals was somewhat higher for homebuyers with the 

lowest credit score and for those with loans for more than $300,000. 

26
Characteristics Had to Add

Co-Signer

to Qualify

Resolved 

Credit Report 

Issues

Answered 

Follow-up 

Requests

Had

Multiple 

Appraisals

Redid 

Paperwork 

Due to Delays

Delayed 

Closing

Date

Loan Type

Purchase 1 17.0 23.4 68.8 9.2 21.6 25.8 

First-Time Homeowner2 20.6 24.5 69.3 9.8 23.0 28.4 

Repeat Homeowner 16.2 24.9 68.8 9.2 21.4 24.7 

Non-Occupant Owner 14.3 10.2 67.3 7.1 20.5 27.9 

Refinance 1 19.2 14.3 53.2 5.3 19.1 17.2 

Homeowner Cashout3 21.2 18.1 56.0 6.5 18.5 17.5 

Homeowner Regular 18.9 13.1 50.9 4.7 19.0 16.4 

Non-Occupant Owner 15.4 11.4 61.9 5.7 22.5 22.1 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 19.7 14.9 52.7 3.9 19.4 19.1 

$50,001 to $150,000 16.8 18.4 54.9 6.6 18.6 19.9 

$150,001 to $300,000 19.5 18.7 60.9 6.3 20.7 19.7 

More than $300,000 19.1 15.5 66.2 8.9 22.2 23.8 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 18.1 37.2 63.0 9.3 17.7 22.4 

620 to 679 17.6 32.7 60.5 6.4 22.4 26.5 

680 to 719 19.1 26.7 61.5 8.0 20.5 21.7 

720 or Higher 18.4 11.4 58.2 6.4 19.7 18.8 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 19.1 20.5 62.7 8.4 20.6 23.9 

36 to 45 19.3 17.7 61.5 7.6 19.5 20.7 

46 to 55 18.0 16.0 55.3 5.6 20.9 20.5 

56 to 65 16.8 15.9 58.1 5.8 20.4 18.8 

Older than 65 18.4 20.4 58.1 6.1 18.3 16.3 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 17.2 16.0 58.0 5.9 18.8 18.7 

Hispanic and Non-White 21.4 22.7 62.5 9.2 23.7 25.3 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 18.4 22.1 50.5 6.7 19.4 20.3 

Some College 18.2 22.0 57.4 7.2 20.4 20.5 

College Degree 18.2 16.8 59.8 5.8 20.1 19.8 

Postgraduate 18.7 14.0 63.5 7.6 20.2 21.4 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 14.3 22.3 57.4 8.7 21.3 21.8 

$50,000 to $99,999 19.1 19.9 58.8 6.4 19.9 20.1 

$100,000 to $174,999 20.8 15.2 59.4 6.1 19.3 19.5 

$175,000 or More 16.7 12.9 61.8 6.9 20.8 22.0 

Household Type

Couple 22.7 17.8 59.8 7.0 20.5 21.0 

Single 3.2 18.0 57.2 6.1 18.8 18.7 

All Respondents 18.4 17.8 59.2 6.8 20.1 20.5 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 

850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior 

mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a 

cashout refinance.

Table 15. Additional Steps Taken in the Mortgage Process, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

(Percent Who Took Each Step)

27
7.0 Closing on a Mortgage

Closing on a mortgage is a complex process that involves substantial paperwork and a range of 

costs and services associated with the loan. This section examines the NSMO questions about 

the closing process, including locking the interest rate, the sources of information used by 

borrowers about their closing, funding the closing costs, finding a settlement agent, title 

insurance, and other features of the mortgage. Table 16 presents the response to these questions. 

More than 90 percent of respondents indicated they were offered the option to lock in the 

mortgage interest rate on the loans, but just 47 percent locked their rate when they applied for the 

loan, 43 percent locked their rate between the application and closing date, and 10 percent waited 

for the closing date to lock their interest rate. 

More than 60 percent of borrowers reported seeking input on the closing from the lender or 

broker. Twenty-four percent of all borrowers and more than 60 percent of first-time homebuyers 

asked their real estate agent for input about their closing documents. Only 12 to 18 percent of 

borrowers reportedly sought input from the settlement agent, an attorney, the title agent, or a 

trusted friend, and less than one percent turned to a housing counselor for input on the mortgage

closing. 

The survey asked the borrower to report who paid any of the closing costs. Because costs could 

be funded through multiple sources, the shares do not add up to 100 percent. The borrower paid 

at least some of the costs of closing the loan on 59 percent of loans (Table 17). In purchase 

transactions, more than 80 percent of borrowers paid their own closing costs. The lender and 

seller were less likely to have paid some or all of the closing costs (17 percent and 14 percent of 

loans, respectively). Closing costs were added to the mortgage amount for 38 percent of loans. 

Respondents were also asked about their search for a settlement agent and the features present in 

the mortgage they obtained. Table 18 lists the responses to these questions. Two-thirds of 

respondents indicated that the lender recommended the settlement agent. More than one-fifth of 

borrowers overall indicated they selected an agent they had used previously, with slightly greater 

shares for investors and those that refinanced. Twelve percent of borrowers shopped around for 

a settlement agent to handle their closing. 

Borrowers reported that nearly 80 percent of their mortgages included an escrow account for 

taxes or homeowner insurance. Among mortgage features reported, only three percent of all 

loans included a pre-payment penalty, and just two percent included a balloon payment feature. 

About five percent of mortgages reportedly included credit life, debt suspension, or debt 

cancelation insurance. These types of insurance were more common among first-time 

homebuyers and borrowers with credit scores less than 620, incomes less than $50,000, or high

school or less education.

28
At

Application

Between Application 

and Closing

Around

Closing

Lender or 

Broker

Attorney Real Estate 

Agent

Settlement 

Agent

Title Agent Trusted 

Friend

Housing 

Counselor

Loan Type

Purchase 1 91.6 36.3 51.1 12.6 69.2 19.7 54.5 19.5 17.3 26.3 1.3 

First-Time Homeowner2 91.6 29.9 56.7 13.4 73.7 18.6 62.5 20.6 17.6 44.8 1.3 

Repeat Homeowner 91.6 36.7 50.2 13.1 68.3 19.4 53.4 18.9 17.3 22.6 1.2 

Non-Occupant Owner 92.1 48.5 45.1 6.4 65.3 24.9 44.1 20.7 15.7 9.7 1.7 

Refinance 1 92.4 53.2 39.0 7.7 57.4 15.2 5.3 7.4 8.9 13.3 0.5 

Homeowner Cashout3 90.7 50.9 40.5 8.6 54.3 15.0 7.3 7.5 9.5 12.9 0.8 

Homeowner Regular 93.4 54.5 38.2 7.3 59.2 14.6 4.7 7.2 8.6 14.1 0.4 

Non-Occupant Owner 90.3 50.7 40.6 8.7 53.1 21.0 3.4 8.1 9.1 8.1 0.5 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 86.7 61.2 32.1 6.7 61.7 16.5 17.3 8.0 8.0 13.5 1.3 

$50,001 to $150,000 90.6 49.2 40.2 10.6 60.2 15.0 23.1 10.8 12.0 18.7 1.3 

$150,001 to $300,000 93.0 44.2 46.2 9.6 61.9 17.3 26.2 12.7 12.8 19.6 0.4 

More than $300,000 94.4 43.9 48.0 8.0 66.0 20.6 24.6 14.2 11.7 15.9 0.3 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 86.9 49.2 38.7 12.0 55.9 16.8 19.2 12.7 9.8 18.9 2.6 

620 to 679 87.5 41.5 44.5 14.0 62.4 15.4 30.1 10.1 14.8 21.3 2.2 

680 to 719 90.9 47.1 43.1 9.8 64.6 15.1 25.4 10.5 11.2 18.3 0.8 

720 or Higher 93.7 47.6 44.0 8.5 61.7 17.7 23.2 12.8 11.9 17.7 0.4 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 92.5 36.5 51.1 12.4 69.5 16.3 46.8 16.8 15.6 40.8 1.4 

36 to 45 92.0 44.7 45.3 9.9 60.9 15.6 23.6 12.6 11.6 18.1 0.7 

46 to 55 92.3 47.6 43.6 8.8 59.4 17.0 15.7 10.2 11.1 10.6 0.4 

56 to 65 91.3 52.6 39.3 8.1 59.7 18.4 15.7 9.6 11.4 9.5 0.8 

Older than 65 92.4 58.6 33.5 7.9 59.1 18.6 16.0 10.0 9.8 6.9 0.5 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 93.1 47.6 43.4 8.9 61.8 16.4 22.7 12.4 11.5 18.3 0.5 

Hispanic and Non-White 89.5 44.1 44.4 11.5 62.6 18.4 28.9 11.3 13.9 18.4 1.6 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 87.8 52.3 34.9 12.8 58.3 12.6 20.1 9.1 12.2 14.5 1.7 

Some College 90.6 47.4 42.4 10.3 58.7 14.9 22.5 9.9 12.1 16.0 1.0 

College Degree 93.0 44.1 46.7 9.3 63.6 17.5 25.6 12.1 12.1 20.1 0.8 

Postgraduate 94.1 46.9 44.9 8.2 64.2 19.8 26.3 15.1 12.2 19.7 0.2 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 87.5 47.2 38.0 14.9 61.6 15.7 26.9 11.5 13.4 21.9 2.4 

$50,000 to $99,999 92.2 47.0 43.6 9.4 62.6 15.9 25.6 10.4 12.6 19.8 0.8 

$100,000 to $174,999 93.1 45.3 46.4 8.4 62.3 17.6 23.6 12.8 11.3 17.8 0.2 

$175,000 or More 95.0 47.9 45.5 6.5 60.3 19.9 20.1 15.5 11.2 11.8 0.2 

Household Type

Couple 92.5 46.8 43.6 9.6 61.5 17.2 23.7 12.1 12.2 17.1 0.8 

Single 90.6 46.1 44.1 9.8 63.7 16.0 26.9 12.0 12.0 22.8 1.0 

All Respondents 92.1 46.7 43.7 9.6 62.0 17.0 24.4 12.1 12.1 18.3 0.8 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

Sources of Input About Closing Documents

(Percentage Who Sought Input from Each Source)

Characteristics

Table 16. Option and Timing of Interest Rate Lock and Sources of Input About Closing Documents, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

Option to Lock

or Set Interest Rate

(Percent with Option)

Locked or Set Interest Rate

(Percentage Distribution)

29
By

Borrower

By

Lender

By

Seller

By Adding to

Mortgage

Loan Type

Purchase 1 81.2 9.2 32.8 15.4 

First-Time Homeowner2 80.1 9.4 42.7 16.3 

Repeat Homeowner 80.6 9.6 31.9 15.1 

Non-Occupant Owner 88.8 5.1 16.3 15.6 

Refinance 1 44.9 21.7 1.5 51.6 

Homeowner Cashout3 39.6 15.7 3.1 64.2 

Homeowner Regular 46.9 24.7 0.9 45.8 

Non-Occupant Owner 47.1 17.6 1.1 54.9 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 49.9 20.7 9.0 37.0 

$50,001 to $150,000 56.5 13.6 13.6 38.9 

$150,001 to $300,000 59.5 17.3 16.3 38.7 

More than $300,000 65.1 22.2 9.0 32.1 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 40.1 19.7 13.1 38.5 

620 to 679 52.1 17.3 21.3 42.0 

680 to 719 52.8 16.2 16.8 41.8 

720 or Higher 63.1 16.7 11.3 35.6 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 73.5 12.5 29.9 26.1 

36 to 45 59.1 15.5 13.6 37.7 

46 to 55 54.4 19.3 8.1 43.7 

56 to 65 54.6 18.3 6.3 40.9 

Older than 65 47.5 20.3 6.6 40.4 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 57.8 16.8 13.2 39.1 

Hispanic and Non-White 62.1 16.9 14.9 33.4 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 47.5 15.7 12.4 40.9 

Some College 55.1 15.4 14.2 39.0 

College Degree 61.1 16.6 14.4 37.8 

Postgraduate 64.4 18.9 12.9 34.5 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 53.1 15.4 16.5 39.2 

$50,000 to $99,999 57.4 15.7 14.8 39.0 

$100,000 to $174,999 60.9 17.6 13.0 37.3 

$175,000 or More 65.7 19.7 8.9 32.6 

Household Type

Couple 58.5 17.0 13.7 37.7 

Single 60.8 16.4 13.6 36.9 

All Respondents 59.0 16.8 13.7 37.5 

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 

850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior 

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a 

Table 17. Source of Funding for the Closing Costs, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

(Percent Who Reported Each Source)

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

Characteristics Closing Costs Paid

30
Lender 

Recommended

Previous

Agent

Shopped

Around

Prepayment 

Penalty

Escrow

Account

Balloon 

Payment

Interest-Only 

Payment

Credit/Debt 

Insurance

Loan Type

Purchase 1 65.8 19.0 15.4 4.0 85.9 3.2 4.9 6.9 

First-Time Homeowner2 67.8 9.5 18.1 5.6 90.9 2.8 6.5 9.5 

Repeat Homeowner 66.4 19.8 14.8 3.4 85.8 2.7 4.5 6.8 

Non-Occupant Owner 56.7 36.0 13.4 4.5 74.9 8.0 3.9 2.2 

Refinance 1 66.8 23.4 10.6 2.3 75.4 1.6 3.8 3.1 

Homeowner Cashout3 64.8 26.6 11.8 2.5 76.3 2.1 4.9 3.1 

Homeowner Regular 67.5 22.2 10.0 2.1 74.8 1.2 3.4 3.4 

Non-Occupant Owner 68.0 22.3 10.6 3.6 76.2 3.8 2.8 1.2 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 59.1 21.1 12.9 4.6 60.0 6.4 5.9 5.5 

$50,001 to $150,000 65.7 20.4 11.4 3.0 81.6 2.2 4.3 5.7 

$150,001 to $300,000 67.0 22.0 13.2 2.5 84.1 1.8 3.6 4.7 

More than $300,000 68.2 24.1 13.0 3.5 68.1 2.5 5.0 1.7 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 72.7 15.1 13.8 2.8 87.8 1.2 4.5 11.2 

620 to 679 68.0 19.8 11.5 3.2 89.7 1.9 5.4 7.5 

680 to 719 66.6 21.1 12.8 3.1 86.6 2.9 5.6 5.9 

720 or Higher 65.7 22.7 12.5 2.9 75.1 2.3 3.6 3.3 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 69.5 17.0 16.0 4.1 90.4 2.7 4.4 8.1 

36 to 45 66.6 22.7 12.4 3.2 80.6 2.0 4.0 4.0 

46 to 55 64.8 23.5 12.0 1.8 78.4 2.2 4.4 4.6 

56 to 65 64.8 21.8 11.6 2.8 73.6 1.8 4.2 2.7 

Older than 65 66.6 24.9 7.7 3.1 67.8 2.5 3.9 2.6 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 67.1 22.5 10.6 2.8 79.8 2.2 3.6 4.4 

Hispanic and Non-White 64.8 19.5 17.3 3.5 78.5 2.3 5.8 5.2 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 59.2 25.9 12.8 3.4 81.2 2.4 7.1 5.7 

Some College 67.2 22.1 11.8 3.1 80.6 2.3 4.5 6.2 

College Degree 66.0 21.7 13.0 3.0 80.4 1.9 3.4 4.6 

Postgraduate 69.4 19.7 12.2 2.5 76.6 2.6 3.7 2.9 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 63.8 20.0 12.3 4.2 83.6 2.2 6.8 8.5 

$50,000 to $99,999 65.7 21.9 13.1 2.8 81.5 1.8 3.8 5.0 

$100,000 to $174,999 67.0 20.3 13.0 2.6 79.7 2.1 3.2 3.3 

$175,000 or More 69.9 25.7 10.0 2.7 69.5 3.6 4.3 1.9 

Household Type

Couple 66.5 22.0 12.5 3.0 78.8 2.4 4.3 4.4 

Single 66.3 20.6 12.2 3.0 81.6 1.7 3.8 5.4 

All Respondents 66.4 21.7 12.4 3.0 79.5 2.2 4.2 4.6 

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

Table 18. Settlement Agent Selection and Mortgage Features, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

Characteristics

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

 Settlement Agent Selection Mortgage Features

(Percent Who Used Each Method) (Percent with Each Feature)

31
8.0 Satisfaction with Mortgage Terms, Mortgage Process and Information

Table 19 presents mortgage borrowers’ satisfaction with the terms, interest rate, and closing costs 

received on their most recent mortgages. Eighty percent indicated that they were very satisfied 

with the general terms of their mortgage, and 18 percent more indicated that they were somewhat 

satisfied. Only two percent of respondents indicated that they were not at all satisfied with their

mortgage terms. There was little variation in reported satisfaction across groups of borrowers.

Borrowers were slightly less satisfied with the interest rate received on their mortgage. More 

than three-quarters of respondents indicated that they were very satisfied with their interest rate. 

Overall, four percent of borrowers were not satisfied with their interest rate. Borrowers with 

credit scores less than 620 (eight percent), those with household incomes of less than $50,000 

(seven percent), and those with a high school education (eight percent) were more likely to report 

being dissatisfied with their interest rate. 

Respondents were notably less likely to report that they were very satisfied with closing costs 

than they were with terms and interest rates. Approximately 58 percent were very satisfied and 

33 percent were somewhat satisfied that they received the lowest closing costs. Nine percent 

were not at all satisfied with their closing costs. Borrowers with household incomes of less than 

$50,000 (13 percent), borrowers with a high school education or less (11 percent), Hispanic or 

non-white borrowers (11 percent), and borrowers with small balance mortgages (11 percent) 

were more likely to be dissatisfied with their closing costs.

Table 20 presents the overall satisfaction with the lender or broker used by the borrower, the 

mortgage application process, and the loan closing process. More than 95 percent of all 

respondents indicated that they were very or somewhat satisfied with the lender or broker they 

used. Three out of four respondents were reportedly very satisfied with their lender; only four 

percent were dissatisfied with their lender. There was generally little variation across borrower 

groups, although borrowers with credit scores less than 620 or income of $50,000 or less were 

more likely to be dissatisfied with their lender. 

Overall, nearly 90 percent of respondents reported that they were very or somewhat satisfied 

with the mortgage application process. Slightly more than 60 percent reported they were very 

satisfied, and an additional 29 percent were somewhat satisfied. Nearly 8 percent were not at all 

satisfied. There was little variation in the estimated shares of borrowers who reported they were 

satisfied with the process. Investors who purchased a house or refinanced a mortgage (14 and 10 

percent, respectively) and respondents in the highest income group (11 percent) were most likely 

to be dissatisfied with the application process.

Similarly, all but eight percent of respondents reported that they were very or somewhat satisfied 

with the mortgage closing process; 66 percent reported that they were very satisfied and 27 

percent reported that they were somewhat satisfied. Among those borrowers who were more 

likely to be dissatisfied with the closing process were investors who purchased a house (10

32
Very Somewhat Not at All Very Somewhat Not at All Very Somewhat Not at All

Loan Type

Purchase 1 77.4 20.8 1.9 73.1 22.0 4.9 53.3 37.9 8.8 

First-Time Homeowner2 77.4 22.0 0.6 70.6 25.3 4.1 56.4 35.6 7.9 

Repeat Homeowner 77.5 20.2 2.3 74.8 20.2 5.0 53.9 37.0 9.1 

Non-Occupant Owner 76.2 22.2 1.6 66.6 28.0 5.3 41.4 49.5 9.0 

Refinance 1 81.6 16.6 1.8 78.1 18.1 3.8 61.6 30.0 8.4 

Homeowner Cashout3 80.0 17.3 2.7 77.1 19.0 3.9 55.7 33.7 10.7 

Homeowner Regular 83.1 15.7 1.1 79.5 17.0 3.4 64.9 28.2 6.9 

Non-Occupant Owner 74.9 21.1 4.1 69.5 24.1 6.3 54.2 32.1 13.7 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 83.7 13.8 2.5 78.2 16.3 5.5 66.5 23.0 10.5 

$50,001 to $150,000 80.8 17.6 1.7 76.1 19.1 4.8 60.7 30.3 9.0 

$150,001 to $300,000 77.8 20.2 2.0 75.3 20.9 3.9 58.7 33.9 7.4 

More than $300,000 82.2 16.0 1.7 77.8 18.8 3.4 51.1 39.0 9.9 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 75.0 22.3 2.7 73.9 18.6 7.5 64.5 25.5 10.0 

620 to 679 74.0 22.2 3.8 73.5 21.5 5.0 60.1 29.1 10.8 

680 to 719 78.7 19.4 1.9 76.5 20.1 3.4 62.6 29.4 8.0 

720 or Higher 81.9 16.8 1.3 76.8 19.2 4.0 56.7 35.2 8.1 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 76.2 23.0 0.8 74.1 22.6 3.3 56.2 36.2 7.5 

36 to 45 78.8 19.6 1.5 75.2 21.5 3.3 55.6 36.4 8.1 

46 to 55 81.3 16.6 2.0 78.4 17.6 3.9 60.1 30.6 9.3 

56 to 65 82.0 15.8 2.2 76.3 17.8 5.8 61.0 30.4 8.7 

Older than 65 83.4 13.2 3.3 77.0 17.4 5.5 60.0 29.8 10.1 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 82.1 16.6 1.3 78.1 18.1 3.7 59.9 32.6 7.6 

Hispanic and Non-White 74.3 22.3 3.4 70.9 23.7 5.4 54.3 34.4 11.3 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 80.8 16.5 2.7 76.5 15.5 8.0 65.3 23.5 11.2 

Some College 79.9 17.7 2.3 77.0 18.5 4.5 61.8 30.1 8.1 

College Degree 79.3 19.2 1.5 75.6 21.3 3.1 57.7 34.0 8.3 

Postgraduate 80.5 18.1 1.5 76.0 20.3 3.6 53.5 38.3 8.2 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 76.3 19.8 3.9 74.5 19.0 6.5 58.6 28.7 12.7 

$50,000 to $99,999 79.2 19.5 1.3 75.2 21.0 3.8 60.9 31.3 7.9 

$100,000 to $174,999 81.1 17.2 1.7 77.4 19.5 3.1 57.1 35.8 7.2 

$175,000 or More 84.0 15.0 1.0 78.2 17.4 4.4 54.4 37.2 8.4 

Household Type

Couple 80.1 18.1 1.8 76.4 19.6 4.0 58.2 33.1 8.7 

Single 79.6 18.5 1.9 75.4 19.8 4.8 58.9 32.9 8.2 

All Respondents 80.0 18.2 1.8 76.2 19.6 4.2 58.4 33.1 8.6 

Table 19. Satisfaction that Mortgage Was the Loan with the Best Features, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

(Percentage Distribution)

Characteristics Terms Interest Rate Closing Costs

33
Very Somewhat Not at All Very Somewhat Not at All Very Somewhat Not at All

Loan Type

Purchase 1 74.0 20.8 5.2 60.4 31.4 8.1 61.9 28.9 9.1 

First-Time Homeowner2 72.5 23.2 4.4 61.3 31.6 7.1 60.4 29.9 9.7 

Repeat Homeowner 74.7 19.8 5.5 60.3 31.9 7.7 62.6 28.6 8.8 

Non-Occupant Owner 72.1 22.5 5.3 59.0 27.2 13.8 61.1 28.9 10.0 

Refinance 1 75.7 20.6 3.7 64.3 28.0 7.6 68.0 24.9 7.1 

Homeowner Cashout3 75.9 20.7 3.4 63.6 28.8 7.6 66.9 26.5 6.6 

Homeowner Regular 76.6 19.6 3.8 64.8 27.8 7.4 68.8 24.2 7.0 

Non-Occupant Owner 67.7 27.7 4.6 63.1 27.0 9.9 64.6 25.4 9.9 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 80.9 14.2 4.9 68.0 25.4 6.6 71.8 23.2 5.0 

$50,001 to $150,000 75.7 20.3 4.0 65.6 27.4 7.0 67.6 24.7 7.7 

$150,001 to $300,000 74.4 21.0 4.6 62.8 29.5 7.8 65.1 27.0 7.9 

More than $300,000 73.8 21.8 4.4 56.0 34.1 9.9 61.5 29.7 8.8 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 72.7 21.2 6.1 65.6 27.8 6.7 69.5 22.4 8.1 

620 to 679 74.4 19.7 6.0 64.6 25.3 10.1 67.3 23.2 9.5 

680 to 719 78.2 18.1 3.7 67.0 26.8 6.2 68.7 24.7 6.5 

720 or Higher 74.6 21.4 4.0 61.3 30.9 7.8 64.3 27.8 7.8 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 74.8 21.1 4.2 60.7 32.6 6.7 60.7 31.0 8.3 

36 to 45 73.7 21.6 4.7 59.7 31.8 8.5 63.1 27.9 9.0 

46 to 55 74.8 20.9 4.3 63.8 28.1 8.1 67.6 25.0 7.4 

56 to 65 74.3 21.3 4.3 65.8 26.5 7.8 68.9 23.7 7.4 

Older than 65 80.4 15.7 4.0 66.1 25.5 8.4 70.6 22.6 6.7 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 76.6 19.2 4.1 64.1 28.0 7.9 67.2 25.2 7.6 

Hispanic and Non-White 70.7 24.4 4.8 59.4 33.0 7.6 61.5 29.8 8.7 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 78.5 17.8 3.7 68.9 25.3 5.9 71.3 23.5 5.2 

Some College 77.2 17.9 4.9 65.4 28.7 5.9 68.1 23.1 8.8 

College Degree 73.5 22.5 4.0 62.5 29.2 8.3 64.3 27.4 8.3 

Postgraduate 73.7 21.8 4.5 58.6 31.7 9.7 62.9 29.3 7.8 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 74.5 19.8 5.7 62.8 30.0 7.2 63.3 27.9 8.8 

$50,000 to $99,999 75.8 20.6 3.7 65.3 27.5 7.2 67.9 24.3 7.8 

$100,000 to $174,999 75.2 20.5 4.3 62.0 30.5 7.4 65.2 27.1 7.8 

$175,000 or More 73.5 22.1 4.4 58.4 30.9 10.7 63.6 28.9 7.5 

Household Type

Couple 74.8 20.7 4.5 62.4 29.4 8.3 65.5 26.7 7.8 

Single 75.7 20.6 3.8 64.5 29.2 6.3 66.1 25.7 8.2 

All Respondents 75.0 20.6 4.3 62.8 29.3 7.8 65.6 26.5 7.9 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

Table 20. Satisfaction with the Mortgage Process, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

(Percentage Distribution)

Characteristics Lender or Broker Application Closing

34
percent), borrowers with credit scores between 620 and 679 (10 percent), non-white borrowers 

(10 percent), and borrowers who earn $50,000 or less per year (nine percent). 

Table 21 presents the overall satisfaction of 2013 borrowers with the information in mortgage 

disclosure documents, the timeliness of the mortgage disclosure documents, and their settlement 

agent. The vast majority of respondents indicated they were very or somewhat satisfied with the 

information (95 percent), timeliness of the mortgage disclosure process (92 percent), and with 

their settlement agent (95 percent). Investors and borrowers in the lowest income and creditscore groups were somewhat more likely to report that they were not at all satisfied with the 

disclosures, timeliness, or settlement agent, and borrowers older than 65 tended to be more likely 

to report they were very satisfied with these aspects of the mortgage process 

9.0 Opinions on Financial Responsibility

The survey asked borrowers whether they agreed or disagreed with statements about financial 

responsibility. Table 22 presents the shares of borrowers who agreed with each of these 

statements. For example, about 95 percent of respondents agreed that owning a home is a good 

financial investment and the share that agreed exceeded 90 percent for all groups of borrowers. 

In general, respondents believe that mortgage lenders treat borrowers well. Slightly more than 

75 percent of respondents agreed that lenders treat borrowers well. The percentage of 

respondents that reported they felt lenders treat borrowers well declined with education and loan 

size. Seventy-eight percent of non-Hispanic white borrowers stated that they believe lenders treat 

borrowers well, compared with 70 percent of Hispanics or non- whites.

Borrowers were also asked whether late payment of their mortgage would lower their credit 

ratings. More than nine out of 10 respondents agreed that late payments would lower their credit 

ratings. The estimated shares within groups varied little, ranging from 96 percent for investors 

who purchased a property to 87 percent for respondents with at most a high school education. In 

contrast, just 14 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that lenders should not care 

about late payments, only whether loans are fully repaid. This share that reportedly agreed with 

this statement differed widely across groups, from 10 percent for borrowers in the highest 

income category to about 20 percent among those who borrowed $50,000 or less and about 21 

percent for borrowers who had a credit score between 621 and 680. The shares decreased across 

the loan size, education, and income categories but increased across age categories.

Respondents were far less likely to agree with the statement that it is okay to default or stop 

paying if it is in the borrower’s financial interest. An estimated seven percent of respondents 

agreed with this statement, with those older than 65 (five percent), non-Hispanic white 

respondents (six percent), and those respondents with low balance mortgages (five percent) least 

likely to agree with this statement. Hispanic or non-white borrowers (nine percent), investors 

(eight percent), respondents with postgraduate degrees (nine percent), and borrowers with large 

35
Very Somewhat Not at All Very Somewhat Not at All Very Somewhat Not at All

Loan Type

Purchase 1 60.8 33.9 5.3 61.0 31.2 7.8 67.7 26.8 5.6 

First-Time Homeowner2 59.1 35.4 5.6 59.3 32.3 8.4 62.9 29.9 7.1 

Repeat Homeowner 61.2 33.7 5.1 61.4 31.0 7.5 68.9 26.2 4.9 

Non-Occupant Owner 62.4 31.4 6.2 61.8 29.9 8.3 69.9 23.2 6.9 

Refinance 1 64.7 30.4 4.9 64.5 27.9 7.6 69.2 25.8 5.0 

Homeowner Cashout3 66.1 29.7 4.2 65.1 28.9 6.0 71.4 24.7 4.0 

Homeowner Regular 64.9 30.2 4.8 64.5 27.6 7.9 68.7 26.0 5.2 

Non-Occupant Owner 58.0 34.2 7.9 61.8 27.5 10.8 65.5 28.3 6.2 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 69.6 27.4 3.0 66.0 24.8 9.2 68.3 25.0 6.7 

$50,001 to $150,000 65.5 29.5 5.1 64.0 28.4 7.6 70.6 24.1 5.2 

$150,001 to $300,000 63.2 32.1 4.7 63.5 29.1 7.4 68.6 26.3 5.1 

More than $300,000 57.1 36.7 6.2 59.8 32.1 8.1 64.2 30.8 5.0 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 64.9 26.0 9.0 66.8 23.2 10.0 69.2 24.9 5.9 

620 to 679 65.0 29.9 5.1 63.3 28.1 8.6 70.5 23.4 6.1 

680 to 719 67.4 28.8 3.8 63.6 30.2 6.2 72.1 23.5 4.4 

720 or Higher 61.8 33.1 5.1 62.7 29.6 7.6 67.4 27.5 5.1 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 58.3 37.0 4.7 59.1 33.3 7.6 64.6 31.1 4.3 

36 to 45 60.3 33.7 6.0 61.0 31.2 7.8 66.7 27.5 5.8 

46 to 55 63.9 30.9 5.2 64.0 27.5 8.5 69.2 25.2 5.6 

56 to 65 66.9 28.6 4.5 65.9 26.9 7.1 71.1 24.6 4.3 

Older than 65 71.1 24.3 4.5 68.9 24.4 6.7 74.9 18.7 6.4 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 65.0 30.2 4.8 65.0 27.4 7.6 71.4 23.6 5.0 

Hispanic and Non-White 58.4 35.9 5.7 58.2 34.0 7.8 61.2 33.1 5.7 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 68.2 27.2 4.6 67.0 26.0 7.0 73.7 21.3 5.0 

Some College 68.3 27.5 4.2 64.5 28.0 7.4 69.8 24.2 6.0 

College Degree 61.9 32.8 5.3 62.0 30.1 7.8 67.4 27.1 5.5 

Postgraduate 58.6 35.8 5.6 61.7 30.4 7.9 67.0 28.7 4.3 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 63.2 29.3 7.4 61.6 29.0 9.4 67.1 25.8 7.2 

$50,000 to $99,999 65.4 30.8 3.8 64.5 28.7 6.8 70.8 24.9 4.3 

$100,000 to $174,999 62.0 33.4 4.6 62.7 29.6 7.7 66.8 28.1 5.1 

$175,000 or More 60.1 33.6 6.3 62.2 30.0 7.8 68.4 26.4 5.3 

Household Type

Couple 62.8 32.3 4.9 63.1 29.2 7.8 68.9 26.1 5.0 

Single 64.8 29.6 5.6 63.3 29.3 7.3 67.7 26.4 5.9 

All Respondents 63.2 31.7 5.1 63.1 29.2 7.7 68.6 26.2 5.2 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

Table 21. Satisfaction with Information During the Mortgage Process, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

(Percentage Distribution)

Characteristics Disclosures Timeliness Settlement Agent

36
Characteristics Owning a Home

Is a Good Financial 

Investment

Mortgage Lenders

Generally Treat

Borrowers Well

Late Payments

Will Lower

Credit Rating

Lenders Should Not Care

About Late Payments,

Only Whether Loans Fully Repaid

It Is Okay to Default

If It Is in the Borrower's

Financial Interest

Loan Type

Purchase 1 95.3 78.7 92.4 13.3 6.9 

First-Time Homeowner2 94.4 78.6 90.8 11.4 7.9 

Repeat Homeowner 95.5 79.3 92.4 14.1 6.4 

Non-Occupant Owner 95.9 74.8 96.2 12.4 7.9 

Refinance 1 94.3 74.3 91.8 13.8 7.1 

Homeowner Cashout3 95.1 75.2 89.6 15.6 5.9 

Homeowner Regular 93.9 74.1 92.5 13.0 7.6 

Non-Occupant Owner 94.0 72.6 93.3 14.2 7.0 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 97.0 84.0 90.4 20.4 4.7 

$50,001 to $150,000 94.5 79.3 91.1 13.9 5.9 

$150,001 to $300,000 94.8 73.6 91.9 13.8 7.6 

More than $300,000 94.2 72.4 94.7 11.5 8.5 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 97.6 71.0 89.7 17.5 8.9 

620 to 679 94.6 76.5 91.4 20.7 5.4 

680 to 719 94.7 75.1 90.4 15.5 6.6 

720 or Higher 94.5 76.4 92.7 11.4 7.3 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 94.2 77.9 93.4 10.4 8.0 

36 to 45 93.9 74.3 94.0 13.1 8.9 

46 to 55 95.1 76.5 90.0 14.1 6.0 

56 to 65 94.8 74.4 91.6 16.2 5.6 

Older than 65 95.8 77.5 90.4 15.5 5.4 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 94.3 78.1 92.6 11.8 6.3 

Hispanic and Non-White 95.5 70.4 90.5 18.5 8.9 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 96.2 80.2 86.9 19.2 6.9 

Some College 95.4 79.2 90.5 16.6 5.5 

College Degree 94.2 77.5 92.7 12.4 6.7 

Postgraduate 93.9 69.8 94.5 10.4 8.7 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 94.3 76.1 89.5 19.0 7.2 

$50,000 to $99,999 94.8 77.8 90.9 14.7 6.0 

$100,000 to $174,999 95.1 74.6 94.4 11.0 7.6 

$175,000 or More 93.8 74.0 93.2 9.9 8.0 

Household Type

Couple 94.9 76.2 92.6 12.6 7.0 

Single 93.6 75.3 89.9 17.3 6.9 

All Respondents 94.6 76.0 92.0 13.6 7.0 

Table 22. Opinions on Homeownership, Lenders, and Mortgage Payments, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

(Percent Who Agreed with Each Statement)

37
balance mortgages (nine percent) were more likely to agree that it is okay to default when it is in 

the borrower’s financial interest.

10.0 Recent Changes in Neighborhood Housing

Tables 23 and 24 present respondents’ opinions on changes to the neighborhoods where homes 

were located for which they had most recently acquired a mortgage. New borrowers in 2013 

were asked if the number of homes in the neighborhood for sale, for rent, that were vacant, and 

that were foreclosed/sold as a short sale had significantly increased, experienced little or no 

change, or had significantly decreased over the last couple of years. They were also asked their

opinion on changes to house prices and the overall desirability of living in the neighborhood. 

Two out of three indicated that the number of homes available for sale in their neighborhood 

experienced little or no change, while slightly more than a quarter reported that the number for 

sale had increased significantly. Less than six percent of respondents reported the number of 

homes for sale declined significantly in their neighborhood. There was little variation across 

borrower groups, for either significant increase or significant decrease. Borrowers with large

loans (nine percent) and borrowers with high incomes (eight percent) reported a decrease in 

available homes for sale, slightly more than what other borrowers reported. 

Different borrower groups varied sharply in their descriptions of changes in the number of vacant 

homes in the neighborhood and clearly described distinctly different neighborhoods. Overall, 

one out of eight respondents indicated that the number of vacant homes increased significantly, 

nearly 80 percent indicated that there was little or no change, and almost eight percent reported 

that the number of vacant homes had declined significantly. Borrowers with a high school 

education or less (17 percent), borrowers with lower household income (17 percent), borrowers 

with very low to moderately low credit scores (15 percent), and respondents with mortgages less 

than $50,000 (22 percent) reported a significant increase in vacant homes in their neighborhood 

over the last two years. By contrast, respondents with very high income (seven percent) and 

borrowers with larger mortgages (six percent) were less likely to report a significant increase in 

vacant homes.

Different borrower groups also varied in their responses about the changes in the number of 

houses for rent in their neighborhood. Overall, slightly more than 12 percent of respondents 

reported a significant increase in rental housing, slightly more than 80 percent of borrowers 

reported little or no change, and only five percent reported a significant decrease in the number 

of rental homes. Borrowers who took out a smaller mortgage (18 percent), or who had very low 

credit scores (17 percent), respondents with a high school education or less (15 percent), and low 

income borrowers (16 percent) were more likely to report a significant increase in the number of 

rental properties in their neighborhoods than were other borrowers.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents indicated that the number of foreclosures and short sales in 

their neighborhood had little or no change over the last couple of years (Table 24). Fifteen 

38
Significantly 

Increase

Little or No 

Change

Significantly 

Decrease

Significantly 

Increase

Little or No 

Change

Significantly 

Decrease

Significantly 

Increase

Little or No 

Change

Significantly 

Decrease

Loan Type

Purchase 1 26.4 68.5 5.1 10.6 80.5 8.9 11.1 83.0 5.9 

First-Time Homeowner2 25.7 69.7 4.7 8.1 85.1 6.8 8.5 85.6 5.9 

Repeat Homeowner 27.1 67.8 5.1 11.4 79.1 9.5 11.6 82.0 6.4 

Non-Occupant Owner 23.6 70.4 5.9 10.3 80.5 9.2 13.2 83.9 2.9 

Refinance 1 27.3 66.6 6.1 13.8 79.1 7.1 13.0 81.9 5.1 

Homeowner Cashout3 28.4 65.3 6.4 14.5 79.1 6.4 13.6 80.9 5.5 

Homeowner Regular 27.2 67.0 5.8 13.6 78.9 7.5 12.9 81.9 5.2 

Non-Occupant Owner 23.6 68.9 7.5 13.5 80.2 6.3 12.1 85.3 2.6 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 25.9 71.9 2.2 22.1 74.3 3.5 18.2 78.5 3.3 

$50,001 to $150,000 26.3 69.4 4.3 15.8 78.3 5.9 13.7 81.2 5.1 

$150,001 to $300,000 28.7 65.2 6.1 11.7 80.2 8.1 12.4 82.3 5.3 

More than $300,000 24.8 66.5 8.8 5.6 82.3 12.1 7.9 85.4 6.7 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 26.3 67.8 5.9 15.5 77.1 7.4 16.9 75.1 8.0 

620 to 679 27.7 66.7 5.6 15.3 76.7 8.0 13.9 79.0 7.1 

680 to 719 28.5 65.2 6.3 14.5 78.1 7.4 14.1 79.7 6.2 

720 or Higher 26.5 67.9 5.6 11.3 80.8 7.9 11.2 84.1 4.7 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 27.8 66.8 5.4 10.8 80.9 8.3 11.9 83.3 4.8 

36 to 45 28.4 65.2 6.4 11.2 79.9 8.9 12.7 82.5 4.8 

46 to 55 26.3 67.8 5.9 13.2 79.1 7.7 11.9 82.1 6.0 

56 to 65 25.9 68.5 5.6 15.5 78.3 6.1 13.2 81.6 5.2 

Older than 65 25.4 69.8 4.8 12.1 80.1 7.8 11.5 81.7 6.8 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 25.5 69.3 5.2 12.5 80.7 6.8 11.1 83.9 5.1 

Hispanic and Non-White 30.8 62.1 7.1 12.6 76.9 10.5 15.5 78.2 6.3 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 26.9 67.6 5.5 16.5 76.2 7.2 15.1 76.8 8.1 

Some College 27.0 68.3 4.7 15.0 77.8 7.2 14.8 79.8 5.4 

College Degree 27.7 66.5 5.7 11.6 79.8 8.7 11.8 83.2 4.9 

Postgraduate 25.9 67.4 6.6 10.1 82.4 7.5 9.6 85.5 4.8 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 27.8 67.1 5.1 17.2 76.0 6.8 15.6 77.5 6.9 

$50,000 to $99,999 26.9 68.5 4.6 14.1 79.3 6.6 14.4 81.0 4.6 

$100,000 to $174,999 28.4 65.2 6.4 10.9 79.7 9.4 10.2 84.9 4.9 

$175,000 or More 23.4 68.6 8.0 6.7 84.4 8.9 7.4 86.1 6.5 

Household Type

Couple 26.7 67.7 5.6 11.8 80.4 7.8 11.6 83.4 5.1 

Single 27.7 66.1 6.2 15.1 77.0 7.9 14.8 78.6 6.6 

All Respondents 26.9 67.3 5.7 12.6 79.6 7.8 12.3 82.3 5.4 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

Table 23. Changes in Housing Availability in Neighborhood over Last Couple Years, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

(Percentage Distribution)

Characteristics Number of Homes for Sale Number of Vacant Homes Number of Homes for Rent

39
Significantly 

Increase

Little or No 

Change

Significantly 

Decrease

Significantly 

Increase

Little or No 

Change

Significantly 

Decrease

Significantly 

Increase

Little or No 

Change

Significantly 

Decrease

Loan Type

Purchase 1 12.5 77.4 10.1 28.7 62.9 8.3 23.3 72.9 3.7 

First-Time Homeowner2 10.9 79.1 10.0 26.6 68.9 4.5 22.7 74.1 3.2 

Repeat Homeowner 12.8 76.6 10.7 29.3 61.1 9.6 24.1 71.8 4.1 

Non-Occupant Owner 14.1 80.0 6.0 29.3 62.1 8.6 19.2 78.4 2.5 

Refinance 1 16.8 74.0 9.2 25.3 54.1 20.6 19.0 75.5 5.5 

Homeowner Cashout3 17.3 73.9 8.8 27.3 54.7 18.0 20.5 74.2 5.2 

Homeowner Regular 16.2 74.3 9.5 24.3 54.5 21.2 18.6 76.1 5.3 

Non-Occupant Owner 20.3 72.1 7.6 26.9 48.1 25.1 16.9 75.2 7.9 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 21.0 72.8 6.1 17.5 64.1 18.3 15.1 78.7 6.3 

$50,001 to $150,000 17.8 74.8 7.4 18.4 63.0 18.7 15.0 77.8 7.2 

$150,001 to $300,000 14.2 76.2 9.6 28.2 56.2 15.5 22.0 74.7 3.3 

More than $300,000 10.1 75.1 14.8 42.9 47.0 10.1 31.2 66.3 2.5 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 17.6 72.8 9.6 22.7 61.0 16.3 19.0 72.7 8.3 

620 to 679 16.6 74.0 9.4 24.4 59.3 16.3 19.6 73.9 6.5 

680 to 719 16.7 74.1 9.2 24.9 58.1 17.0 22.0 73.2 4.8 

720 or Higher 14.3 76.1 9.6 27.7 56.8 15.5 20.7 75.1 4.2 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 12.5 77.9 9.6 28.1 63.0 8.9 22.9 72.4 4.8 

36 to 45 14.2 74.2 11.6 32.3 52.9 14.7 24.6 70.1 5.3 

46 to 55 17.3 73.5 9.2 24.1 57.7 18.1 18.1 77.0 4.9 

56 to 65 16.4 75.4 8.2 23.6 56.3 20.1 17.9 77.5 4.6 

Older than 65 15.1 76.6 8.3 22.4 58.0 19.6 18.6 77.3 4.1 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 15.5 76.5 8.0 24.0 59.1 16.9 19.0 76.6 4.4 

Hispanic and Non-White 14.1 72.2 13.7 33.7 53.2 13.1 25.0 69.0 5.9 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 19.0 71.7 9.4 19.9 60.7 19.4 13.0 78.7 8.2 

Some College 17.4 73.7 8.8 23.7 58.4 18.0 19.8 75.0 5.2 

College Degree 15.0 74.9 10.1 27.4 57.3 15.3 21.8 73.1 5.1 

Postgraduate 11.7 78.7 9.6 30.8 55.8 13.4 23.1 74.2 2.7 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 18.1 74.2 7.8 19.9 61.9 18.2 16.7 75.3 8.0 

$50,000 to $99,999 16.9 74.0 9.1 22.9 59.9 17.2 18.4 76.2 5.5 

$100,000 to $174,999 13.6 76.9 9.5 29.7 55.1 15.2 23.8 73.2 3.0 

$175,000 or More 10.4 77.0 12.6 37.3 51.2 11.5 24.9 72.1 3.0 

Household Type

Couple 14.4 76.2 9.4 27.4 57.1 15.5 20.5 75.2 4.2 

Single 17.8 72.3 9.9 23.8 59.1 17.1 21.2 72.0 6.8 

All Respondents 15.1 75.3 9.5 26.6 57.5 15.9 20.7 74.5 4.8 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the 

respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a cashout refinance.

Table 24. Changes in Neighborhood Desireability over Last Couple Years, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

(Percentage Distribution)

Characteristics Number of Foreclosures or Short Sales House Prices Overall Desireablity of Living There

40
percent of respondents reported a significant increase and 10 percent reported a significant 

decrease. Borrowers who took out small mortgages (21 percent), had low credit scores (18 

percent), and have a high school education or less (19 percent) reported a larger increase in the 

number of foreclosures. 

Fifty-eight percent of respondents reported that there was little or no change to house prices in 

their neighborhood over the last couple of years, while 27 percent reported a significant increase 

in prices and 16 percent of respondents reported significant decline in house prices in their 

neighborhood. However, respondents who took out large mortgages (43 percent), high income 

borrowers (37 percent), and borrowers with postgraduate degrees (31 percent) were far more 

likely to report a significant increase in house price over the last couple years than were other 

respondents. Individuals, who purchased a home, including investors and first-time buyers, were 

far less likely to report a significant decline in house price (eight percent) than were respondents 

who refinanced a mortgage (21 percent).

Borrowers were asked if the overall desirability of living in their neighborhood had changed over 

the last couple of years. Nearly three out of four indicated that there had been little or no change 

in desirability, 21 percent reported a significant increase in desirability and only five percent 

reported a significant decline. There was little to no variation across borrower groups. 

11.0 Expectations on Neighborhood House Prices and Neighborhood Desirability

Respondents were asked what they think will happen to prices of homes in their neighborhood 

over the next couple of years. Nearly 77 percent of all respondents expect house prices to 

increase, with 62 percent expecting that prices will increase a little and 15 percent expecting that 

prices will increase a lot (Table 25). Nearly 19 percent of respondents indicated that prices 

would remain about the same over the next couple of years and just four percent of respondents 

expect prices to decrease. The percentage of borrowers who reportedly expect price increases 

generally rose with loan size and borrower income, and both the share expecting home prices to 

remain about the same and the share expecting price declines decreased with loan size and 

income. There was generally little variation across other groups of borrowers in expectations on 

neighborhood house prices.

Borrowers were also asked whether they expect the overall desirability of living in their 

neighborhood to change in the next couple of years (Table 26). About 74 percent of respondents 

indicated that they expected overall desirability of their neighborhood to stay about the same, 23 

percent of respondents expected neighborhood desirability to increase, and 3 percent of 

respondents expected neighborhood desirability to decrease. Borrowers with loans for less than 

$150,000, borrowers with credit scores of 679 or less, borrowers with at most a high school 

education, and borrowers with household income of less than $50,000 were more likely than 

other groups of borrowers to expect that neighborhood desirability would decrease. 

41
Increase

a Lot

Increase

a Little

Remain About 

the Same

Decrease

a Little

Decrease

a Lot

Loan Type

Purchase 1 18.1 62.4 16.7 2.3 0.5 

First-Time Homeowner2 21.7 55.0 21.0 2.1 0.3 

Repeat Homeowner 17.1 64.1 15.7 2.4 0.7 

Non-Occupant Owner 17.3 66.5 14.1 2.1 0.0 

Refinance 1 12.7 62.0 20.6 3.5 1.2 

Homeowner Cashout3 14.3 60.5 20.7 3.3 1.2 

Homeowner Regular 11.7 62.1 21.3 3.7 1.2 

Non-Occupant Owner 15.5 66.4 13.6 3.4 1.1 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 10.0 51.9 32.2 5.4 0.4 

$50,001 to $150,000 10.2 59.0 24.6 4.6 1.5 

$150,001 to $300,000 16.4 65.3 15.4 2.2 0.7 

More than $300,000 22.2 64.0 12.4 1.0 0.5 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 18.5 48.4 28.0 3.5 1.6 

620 to 679 16.1 56.9 21.7 3.7 1.5 

680 to 719 17.8 58.6 18.9 3.3 1.4 

720 or Higher 13.6 64.9 18.0 2.8 0.7 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 16.2 61.9 18.8 2.3 0.7 

36 to 45 15.5 61.3 19.0 3.1 1.1 

46 to 55 14.3 62.1 19.2 3.8 0.6 

56 to 65 13.4 63.1 18.7 3.2 1.5 

Older than 65 14.1 62.6 20.2 2.3 0.8 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 12.9 63.5 19.9 3.0 0.7 

Hispanic and Non-White 19.8 58.6 16.8 3.3 1.6 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 13.4 53.5 26.0 5.7 1.3 

Some College 15.0 59.0 21.2 3.5 1.3 

College Degree 15.6 63.1 17.6 2.9 0.8 

Postgraduate 14.2 67.1 16.3 1.7 0.7 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 11.8 53.3 27.3 5.5 2.0 

$50,000 to $99,999 13.9 61.1 20.9 3.0 1.0 

$100,000 to $174,999 15.9 65.9 15.3 2.6 0.3 

$175,000 or More 18.0 67.6 12.4 1.3 0.7 

Household Type

Couple 14.5 63.2 18.5 3.0 0.7 

Single 15.7 58.4 21.0 3.2 1.7 

All Respondents 14.8 62.1 19.1 3.1 0.9 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 

850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior 

mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a 

cashout refinance.

Table 25. Expectations for House Prices in Neighborhood over Next Couple of Years,

by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

(Percentage Distribution)

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

Characteristics Prices of Similar Homes in Neighborhood Will

42
Become More Desireable Stay About The Same Become Less Desirable

Loan Type

Purchase 1 28.1 70.6 1.3 

First-Time Homeowner2 30.6 68.1 1.4 

Repeat Homeowner 27.8 70.9 1.3 

Non-Occupant Owner 24.4 74.4 1.3 

Refinance 1 19.9 76.7 3.4 

Homeowner Cashout3 20.2 76.4 3.4 

Homeowner Regular 19.9 76.9 3.3 

Non-Occupant Owner 18.9 76.4 4.7 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 12.2 84.5 3.3 

$50,001 to $150,000 17.2 78.9 3.8 

$150,001 to $300,000 25.0 72.7 2.3 

More than $300,000 33.7 65.9 0.4 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 26.2 70.5 3.3 

620 to 679 23.0 72.9 4.1 

680 to 719 24.2 72.3 3.5 

720 or Higher 22.7 75.3 2.0 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 27.5 70.4 2.1 

36 to 45 26.6 70.3 3.1 

46 to 55 20.1 77.1 2.8 

56 to 65 20.4 76.9 2.7 

Older than 65 17.9 80.1 2.0 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 21.0 76.6 2.4 

Hispanic and Non-White 28.7 68.2 3.1 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 17.7 78.4 3.9 

Some College 21.4 75.2 3.4 

College Degree 24.4 73.0 2.6 

Postgraduate 25.0 73.5 1.5 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 17.8 78.0 4.2 

$50,000 to $99,999 20.9 75.7 3.3 

$100,000 to $174,999 25.7 73.0 1.3 

$175,000 or More 29.3 69.3 1.4 

Household Type

Couple 23.1 74.7 2.2 

Single 23.1 73.0 3.9 

All Respondents 23.1 74.3 2.6 

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 

850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior 

mortgage in the credit files.

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a 

cashout refinance.

Table 26. Expectations for Neighborhood Desirability over Next Couple of Years,

by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

(Percentage Distribution)

Characteristics Living in the Neighborhood Will

43
12.0 Financial Expectations

The NSMO survey asked borrowers how likely they were to encounter events in the next couple 

of years that might constrain their household finances. Specifically, the survey asked the 

likelihood over the next couple of years that the respondent would: retire; be laid off, become 

unemployed, or be forced to reduce hours of work; have difficulties making their mortgage 

payments; or experience some other personal financial crisis.

Twenty-three percent of respondents indicated they were likely to retire in the next couple of 

years (Table 27). Not surprisingly, this fraction was about twice as high for respondents who 

were older than 56 than those aged 46 to 55 years old, while six percent of respondents aged 36 

to 45 years old and three percent of respondents aged 35 years or younger indicated they would 

retire in the next couple of years. Only three percent of first-time homebuyers indicated they 

were likely to retire in the next couple of years, while 33 percent of investors purchasing a home 

expressed the expectation of retiring in the near term.

Fifteen percent of respondents expected to have difficulties in making their mortgage payments 

in the next couple of years. Respondents with very low credit scores (30 percent), high school 

education or less (23 percent), or household income less than $50,000 a year (28 percent) were 

more likely to believe they will have difficulties than other respondents. Conversely, 

respondents with very high credit scores (13 percent), postgraduate degrees (11 percent), or 

household income $175,000 or more (seven percent) were less likely to believe they will have 

difficulties in paying their mortgage in the next couple of years.

Nearly one out of five respondents indicated that it is likely they might experience a layoff, 

unemployment, or forced reduction in hours over the next couple of years. This fraction was 

generally similar across groups, although respondents with a high school education at most (21 

percent), borrowers with low credit scores (24 percent), and those earning $50,000 or less (22 

percent) were somewhat more likely to believe they are at risk than were other respondents. 

Twenty-two percent of all respondents indicated that it was likely that they would face some 

other personal financial crisis in the next couple of years. Respondents with household income 

of less than $50,000 (33 percent), respondents with credit scores below 620 (35 percent), 

respondents older that 65 (25 percent), and respondents with only a high school education (27 

percent) felt that they were most at risk of a personal financial crisis. 

Nearly 85 percent of respondents indicated they had the ability to pay their bills for the next 

three months without borrowing (Table 28). Respondents with household income $175,000 or 

more (94 percent) and respondents with loans more than $300,000 (91 percent) were more likely 

than other respondents to indicate they had the ability to weather an adverse financial shock. 

Respondents with household income less than $50,000 (76 percent) and respondents with only a 

high school education (76 percent) report that they were less able to weather a financial shock.

44
Characteristics Retirement Difficulties

Making Mortgage 

Payments

Unemployment, 

Layoff, or Forced 

Hour Reduction

Some Other 

Personal

Financial Crisis

Loan Type

Purchase 1 15.2 10.9 15.8 17.7 

First-Time Homeowner2 3.3 10.4 16.5 14.9 

Repeat Homeowner 16.5 12.0 15.9 19.0 

Non-Occupant Owner 33.6 4.3 13.4 14.5 

Refinance 1 27.7 17.4 20.6 24.6 

Homeowner Cashout3 27.5 19.3 20.4 25.6 

Homeowner Regular 27.4 16.5 20.8 24.6 

Non-Occupant Owner 31.4 18.2 19.6 21.7 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 27.5 12.8 12.8 22.5 

$50,001 to $150,000 23.9 17.7 19.6 24.9 

$150,001 to $300,000 21.7 13.4 18.9 21.0 

More than $300,000 22.3 12.4 17.7 17.2 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 18.7 29.6 23.9 34.6 

620 to 679 17.2 18.9 20.2 24.9 

680 to 719 22.1 17.0 17.7 22.6 

720 or Higher 24.5 12.6 18.3 20.3 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 2.6 10.5 15.1 15.2 

36 to 45 6.0 14.7 20.3 20.5 

46 to 55 19.7 15.4 23.8 24.0 

56 to 65 56.6 18.4 19.7 27.1 

Older than 65 45.6 16.6 9.8 24.7 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 23.8 14.2 18.3 21.4 

Hispanic and Non-White 20.3 16.8 19.9 23.4 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 24.4 23.0 21.4 26.8 

Some College 26.5 16.0 19.2 24.0 

College Degree 19.2 14.5 18.7 20.8 

Postgraduate 23.7 11.1 17.3 19.6 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 22.4 27.9 22.4 33.3 

$50,000 to $99,999 23.0 16.5 20.0 24.6 

$100,000 to $174,999 20.9 9.4 17.7 16.1 

$175,000 or More 26.6 6.5 13.8 13.5 

Household Type

Couple 23.3 14.1 19.1 21.2 

Single 21.4 17.7 17.6 24.4 

All Respondents 22.9 14.9 18.8 21.9 

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a 

cashout refinance.

Table 27. Expectations About Future Financial Situation, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

(Percent Very or Somewhat Likely to Face Each Situation in the Next Couple of Years)

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 

850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior 

45
Characteristics Pay Bills for the 

Next Three Months 

Without Borrowing

Get Significant 

Financial Help from 

Family or Friends

Borrow Enough 

Money from a Bank 

or Credit Union

Increase Income 

Significantly 

Loan Type

Purchase 1 86.2 62.0 69.4 57.0 

First-Time Homeowner2 80.4 75.2 71.7 63.0 

Repeat Homeowner 86.9 59.4 68.1 55.6 

Non-Occupant Owner 94.2 49.9 73.5 52.7 

Refinance 1 83.6 49.9 66.7 45.5 

Homeowner Cashout3 82.1 49.3 66.4 42.0 

Homeowner Regular 83.6 50.8 66.9 46.5 

Non-Occupant Owner 89.2 45.2 66.6 50.3 

Loan Size

$50,000 or Less 86.5 45.6 63.4 42.9 

$50,001 to $150,000 81.3 52.7 65.4 46.6 

$150,001 to $300,000 84.6 56.9 69.0 51.7 

More than $300,000 91.3 55.6 71.1 54.8 

Credit Score 2

Lower than 620 71.6 45.3 51.6 44.8 

620 to 679 72.6 54.6 62.1 51.4 

680 to 719 78.9 54.1 66.3 48.1 

720 or Higher 89.3 55.4 70.4 50.4 

Respondent Age

35 Years or Younger 84.2 74.9 73.5 63.7 

36 to 45 81.8 63.4 70.4 53.7 

46 to 55 84.3 51.2 67.9 50.3 

56 to 65 86.1 39.0 62.0 41.5 

Older than 65 89.1 30.8 60.7 28.7 

Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White 85.0 55.0 69.3 48.9 

Hispanic and Non-White 83.6 53.6 63.6 52.9 

Respondent Education

High School or Less 75.6 46.1 59.3 44.0 

Some College 82.0 50.4 62.8 44.1 

College Degree 85.6 58.5 69.5 53.8 

Postgraduate 89.1 57.0 73.1 52.5 

Household Income

Less than $50,000 75.8 51.2 55.1 42.2 

$50,000 to $99,999 80.7 54.8 68.1 49.1 

$100,000 to $174,999 89.8 56.9 71.7 51.8 

$175,000 or More 94.0 53.8 73.6 57.2 

Household Type

Couple 85.3 54.8 68.7 50.9 

Single 82.1 54.0 64.4 46.5 

All Respondents 84.6 54.6 67.8 50.0 

3. If a refinance mortgage amount is higher than the previous mortgage or a if mortgage is for a previously mortgage-free property, it is classified as a 

cashout refinance.

(Percent Very or Somewhat Likely to Perform Each Action in the Next Couple of Years)

Table 28. Ability to Weather an Adverse Financial Shock, by Loan and Demographic Characteristics

Source: National Survey of Mortgage Originations, 2013

Notes: 1. Mortgages to purchase a property are classified as the "purchase" loan type and all other mortgages are clasified as the "refinance" type.

2. Credit score and first-time homebuyer status are assembled from the National Mortgage Database. Credit score from Vantage ranges from 300 to 

850. A homebuyer is classified as first-time if neither the respondent nor the spouse is older than 54 years in age and there is no evidence of a prior 

46
Fifty-five percent of respondents indicated that they could get significant financial help from 

family or friends if they suffered an adverse financial shock. Respondents aged 56 to 65 (39 

percent) and respondents 65 years and older (31 percent) were the least likely to feel that they 

could get significant help from family or friends. Respondents aged 35 years or younger (75 

percent) were most likely to feel that they could get financial help from their family or friends.

Fifty percent of respondents felt that they could significantly increase their income if they 

experienced a financial shock. First-time homebuyers (63 percent), respondents 35 years or 

younger (64 percent), and respondents with incomes of $175,000 or more (57 percent) were 

more likely to indicate they could significantly increase their income. Older respondents were 

less likely to indicate they could significantly increase their income. Respondents aged 56 to 65 

years old (42 percent) and respondents older than 65 years (29 percent) reported they could not 

significantly increase their income if they experienced a financial shock.

13.0 Summary and Further Work

This technical paper draws on the nationally representative data in the NSMO to provide a broadbrush picture of the mortgage-related experiences, choices, and outcomes of borrowers who took 

out a mortgage in 2013. Originations in 2013 were influenced by favorable interest rates that led 

to many refinancing transactions. New rules for mortgages were issued in 2013 that took effect 

in early 2014. The next report on mortgage originations from the NSMO will provide data that 

will enable a comparison of 2013 and 2014 mortgage originations. 

47
Appendix

The National Mortgage Database is a multi-year project being jointly undertaken by the Federal 

Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The 

project is designed to provide comprehensive information about the U.S. mortgage market based 

on a five percent sample of residential mortgages. The project has two primary components: (1) 

the NMDB4 and (2) the quarterly NSMO.

5

The NMDB project will enable FHFA to meet the statutory requirements of section 1324(c) of 

the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, as amended by the 

Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, to conduct a monthly mortgage market survey. 

Specifically, FHFA must, through a survey of the mortgage market, collect data on the 

characteristics of individual mortgages, including subprime and nontraditional mortgages, and 

information on the creditworthiness of borrowers, including a determination of whether subprime 

and nontraditional borrowers would have qualified for prime lending. 

For CFPB, the NMDB project will support policymaking and research efforts and help identify 

and understand emerging mortgage and housing market trends. The CFPB expects to use the 

NMDB, among other purposes, in support of the market monitoring called for by the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, including understanding how mortgage 

debt affects consumers.

FHFA and CFPB have examined existing databases, and determined that none fully meets the

criteria necessary to achieve the above objectives. The NMDB, when fully complete, will be a 

de- identified loan-level database of closed-end first-lien residential mortgages. It will (1) be 

representative of the market as a whole; (2) contain comprehensive information on the terms and 

performance of mortgages, as well as characteristics of the associated borrowers and property; 

(3) be continually updated; (4) have an historical component dating back before the financial 

crisis of 2008; and (5) provide a sampling frame for the NSMO. 

The core data in the NMDB are drawn from a random 1-in-20 sample of all closed-end first-lien 

mortgage files outstanding at any time between January 1998 and June 2012 and maintained by 

Experian, one of the three national credit repositories. A random 1-in-20 sample of mortgages 

newly reported to Experian is added each quarter. Mortgages are followed in the NMDB 

database until they terminate through prepayment (including refinancing), foreclosure, or 

maturity. Information from credit repository files on each borrower associated with the 

mortgages in the NMDB sample is collected from at least one year prior to origination to one 

4 See National Mortgage Database Technical Report 15-01 (August 27, 2015), 

http://www.fhfa.gov/PolicyProgramsResearch/Programs/Documents/NMDB_Technical_Report_15-01_082715.pdf

for more details. 5 See National Survey of Mortgage Borrowers Technical Report 15-02 (August 27, 2015), 

http://www.fhfa.gov/PolicyProgramsResearch/Programs/Documents/NSMO_Technical_Report_15-02-082715.pdf

for more details.

48
year after termination of the mortgage. The information on borrowers and loans available to the 

FHFA, CFPB, or any other potential user of the NMDB data is de-identified and does not include 

directly-identifiable information, such as borrower name, address, or Social Security number. 

The NSMO is a component of the NMDB project. The survey is designed to complement the 

NMDB by providing information, particularly related to mortgage shopping, which is not 

available in the database. The survey is completely voluntary and its target universe is newly 

originated closed-end first-lien residential mortgages and their associated borrowers. To achieve 

this objective, the NSMO draws its sample from mortgages that are part of the NMDB, which 

samples from the same target universe. 

The NSMO is administered by Westat under a subcontract with Experian. Fair Credit Reporting 

Act (FCRA) rules dictate that the survey process, because it utilizes borrower names and 

addresses drawn from credit repository records, must be administered through Experian in order 

to maintain consumer privacy. 

Each quarter, the NSMO sample is selected from the mortgage loans newly added to the NMDB 

sample that quarter. Starting with the loans originated in 2013, a “simple random sample” of 

about 6,000 loans was drawn each quarter. At present, this represents a sampling rate of 1-in-13 

from the NMDB sample. This rate is equivalent to a 1-in-260 sampling rate of the overall 

population since the NMDB is a 1-in-20 sample of the closed-end first-lien mortgage loans in the 

Experian data. 

After the sample is selected, Experian eliminates any potential respondents who have opted out 

of previous surveys or are deemed not to have legitimate addresses or names. Industry guidance 

(Metro 2® Industry Standards for Credit Reporting) requires that servicers must supply a billing 

address for each borrower on a trade line (including mortgages). Experian generally uses these 

borrower billing addresses as the survey mailing address. Sometimes, however, there are 

multiple addresses and borrowers associated with a survey sample loan. In these cases, Table A1 presents the rules for selecting the borrower(s) and address to which the survey is mailed. The 

survey is sent to two borrowers at most who share a common address.

49
Table A-1. Rule for Best Address 

Number of 

borrowers

Same or different 

address

Resulting survey recipient 

1 n/a One borrower with Experian’s associated best address

2 Same Two borrower names with one common best address

2 Different The one borrower and associated best address with the 

lowest number of open mortgages.

>2 Same Two borrowers with one common best address that has 

the highest number of trade lines reported 

>2 Different The one borrower and associated best address with the 

lowest number of open mortgages

FHFA and CFPB never receive the names or addresses that are chosen for the survey. Only 

Experian and Westat, as Experian’s subcontractor, have access to this information. 

The survey implementation strategy comprises four respondent contacts over a seven-week 

period: 

Week 1 Printed questionnaire, cover letter, and cash incentive (entire survey sample 

population) 

Week 2 1st reminder letter (entire survey sample population) 

Week 5 2nd reminder letter, printed questionnaire, and additional cash incentive 

(sampled borrowers who have not responded by Week 4) 

Week 7 3rd reminder letter, which includes the due date for returning the questionnaire, 

to close the communication loop (sampled borrowers who have not responded by Week 6) 

Participation in the survey is completely voluntary and respondents are assured of confidentiality 

in their responses. The first and the third contacts contain a printed survey questionnaire and a 

five dollar cash incentive, which the respondent is free to keep whether they return the 

questionnaire or not. The mailings and printed questionnaires detail how respondents can also 

complete the survey online in either English or Spanish (there is no printed Spanish 

questionnaire) using instructions and a unique “survey PIN number” provided in the 

questionnaire packet. About one quarter of survey responses are completed online. 

Mail surveys are processed for four weeks after the third reminder letter, so the field period 

comprises 11 weeks in total. It takes between five and six weeks to draw the new NMDB 

sample, identify and combine duplicative records, draw the NSMO sample, process it at

50
Experian, and print the survey materials. Thus, the survey cycle typically begins six weeks after 

the end of a quarter and extends about four weeks into the next quarter. 

All returned questionnaires and any non-delivered mail are sent directly to Westat and not to 

FHFA, CFPB, or Experian. All survey responses received by Westat are purged of any 

information related to the name of the borrower, address of the borrower, or name of any 

financial institution. This is done to maintain the de-identified confidential nature of the data and 

to ensure that the survey responses cannot be connected to a name or address.

During the first eight weeks of each cycle, Experian maintains a NSMO call center to address

any questions by respondents. This call center also allows respondents to “opt out” of the survey 

and future surveys. Both FHFA and CFPB describe the survey on their websites so that 

respondents can independently validate the legitimacy of the survey. The agency officials

signing the cover letter (Sandra Thompson at FHFA and David Silberman at CFPB) are 

identifiable on the websites as senior employees of their respective agencies. 

Once the active phase of a survey cycle ends, it takes about 25 days for Westat to scan and edit 

returned questionnaires, combine them with on-line responses and create an electronic data file. 

This file is delivered to the NMDB development staff, through Experian. It takes a further eight 

weeks to complete additional cleaning and editing of survey responses, to create preliminary 

sample weights, and to assemble a preliminary user data file.

Since it takes between 90 and 150 days for the typical mortgage loan to be reported by the 

servicer to the credit repositories after origination, the first preliminary user data file will 

generally reflect mortgage originations of approximately one year earlier. Consider the fourth 

wave of 2014 as an example. The survey sample is drawn from the September 2014 archive and 

captures loans reported to Experian between June and September 2014, with most originated 

between March and June 2014. The fourth wave was put into the field in early November and 

closed at the beginning of February 2015. The electronic data file was delivered to the NMDB 

development staff in late February, and it took until the end of April 2015 to create a preliminary 

version of the survey data base. 

The timeline just described applies to each quarterly wave data release. Because some loans can 

take longer than six months to be reported to the repositories, a usable data file fully 

representative of a calendar year will not generally be available until December of the following 

year. 

51