A similar skepticism holds true for financing mortgages over the Internet. Only 21 percent of those surveyed said they would probably or definitely try financing a home over the Internet, an increase of just 1 percent over those who said so in 1996. Americans are slowly beginning to consider online mortgage origination as a viable option, with 25 percent saying they would strongly or somewhat consider financing or refinancing a home online. However, the Internet still is viewed predominantly as a source of information for getting a mortgage, rather than as a useful channel for applying for a loan. Attitudes of Those Who've Recently Financed a Home Americans who recently have financed or refinanced a home reported that they had no difficulties going through the mortgage process.
Consumers still prefer to meet in person with their lender or mortgage broker.
This is significant, given how slowly consumers appear to be adapting to online mortgage origination. The 1999 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey has a margin of error for overall responses of less than 3 percent. Fannie Mae is a New York Stock Exchange company and the largest non-bank financial services company in the world. It operates pursuant to a federal charter and is the nation's largest source of financing for home mortgages.