Washington, D.C.-based NeighborWorks America has released new research that finds that homebuyers who receive the organization's pre-purchase housing counseling and education are nearly one-third less likely to fall behind 90 days or more on their mortgages within two years of origination than consumers who do not receive housing NeighborWorks pre-purchase counseling and education.
The research was conducted by Neil Mayer and Associates and Experian, and is based on approximately 75,000 mortgage loans originated in 2007, 2008 and 2009, when residential mortgage underwriting standards began to tighten. The study used econometric methods to measure whether and to what extent pre-purchase services provided by the NeighborWorks network affect first mortgage loan performance.
The research also shows that repeat homebuyers also benefit from receiving quality housing counseling and education. According to the report, repeat homebuyers who received housing counseling also are about one-third less likely to fall 90 days or more behind in their mortgages than repeat homebuyers who did not receive housing counseling and education.
‘More analysis is required to determine the factors for the repeat homebuyer results,’ says NeighborWorks America CEO Eileen Fitzgerald. ‘But one thing is clear from the data: NeighborWorks pre-purchase housing counseling and education is effective, even if you've been a homeowner before.’