Overall customer satisfaction with mortgage lenders has reached its highest level in the past six years, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study.
For a second consecutive year, overall customer satisfaction has increased to 761 (on a 1,000-point scale) in 2012, up from 747 in 2011 and 734 in 2010. The study measured customer satisfaction in four key factors of the mortgage origination experience: application/approval process; loan representative; closing; and contact.
‘Given the recent challenges across financial services, the highest-performing lenders in the 2012 study have reduced customer uncertainty and apprehension with greater transparency and communication regarding what to expect in the origination process,’ says Craig Martin, director of the mortgage practice at J.D. Power and Associates. ‘This increase in satisfaction is particularly impressive given the increasingly expanded origination timelines during the past year.’
Quicken Loans ranked highest among primary mortgage lenders for a third consecutive year, with a score of 817, and performs particularly well in all four factors measured in the study. BB&T followed in the rankings with a score of 791, while U.S. Bank ranked third with a score of 784.
The study was conducted between July 31 and Aug. 27, and it was based on responses from more than 3,500 customers who originated a new mortgage.