Experian Home Buying and Credit: Survey Report, 2015

Experian Home Buying and Credit: Survey Report, 2015

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  1 April, 2015 HOME BUYINGAND CREDIT: Survey Report
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  2 © Copyright2015 Daniel J Edelman Inc. Intelligent Engagement WHO HOW MANY ACCURACY WHEN HOW Home Buyers (Purchased within the past year or plan to purchase in the next year) n=500 (250 Recent, 250 Future Home Buyers) Margin of Error = ± 4.4% (± 6.2% for each audience) Data Collection Occurred April 7-14, 2015 Online Survey RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: To garner media-genic research around home buyers’ attitudes toward credit scores, financial responsibility and the purchase process Research Methodology
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  3 © Copyright2015 Daniel J Edelman Inc. Intelligent Engagement Key Findings Buyers understand the importance of one’s credit score when purchasing a home, and many future buyers are concerned about their own credit status. More than two in five future buyers are worried that they will not qualify for the best home loan rate and have delayed purchasing to improve their credit. Just half of recent buyers report checking their credit as soon as they considered purchasing a home. Home buyers are less informed about the impact of identity fraud and the importance of one’s credit score when refinancing home.
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  OVERALL RESULTS
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  5 © Copyright2015 Daniel J Edelman Inc. Intelligent Engagement Q7: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Shown: Top 2 Box, Agree) Q9: In your opinion, how important is one’s credit score in purchasing a home? (Shown: Top 2 Box, Important) Most know how credit affects home buying but just half are actively working to improve their scores 95% Say that one’s credit score is important in purchasing a home 55% Are working to improve their credit to qualify for a better home loan rate Credit Impact on HOME BUYING Working to IMPROVE CREDIT 95% FOR BOTH FUTURE AND RECENT BUYERS
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  6 © Copyright2015 Daniel J Edelman Inc. Intelligent Engagement 37% 38% 70% 48% 47% 54% I was / am worried my credit status might hurt my ability to purchase a home I am concerned that my credit score doesn’t qualify for the best home loan rate I felt / feel prepared financially to purchase a home Impact of Knowing Credit Score on Home Buyer Perceptions Know Credit Score Do Not Know Credit Score Those who know their credit scores feel more confident about the home buying process Q7: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Shown: Top 2 Box, Agree; Shown among those who know their credit score, n=388 and those who do not n=112)
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  7 © Copyright2015 Daniel J Edelman Inc. Intelligent Engagement Q7: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Shown: Top 2 Box, Agree) Q9: In your opinion, how important is one’s credit score in purchasing a home? (Shown: Top 2 Box, Important) Fewer are aware of their credit’s impact on refinancing though many have recently refinanced or plan to 62% Agree their credit score affects the interest rate to refinance a home 22% Have refinanced in the past year or plan to in the year ahead Credit Impact on REFINANCING Recent / Planned REFINANCING 29% FOR RECENT BUYERS
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  FUTURE HOME BUYERS’ EXPERIENCE
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  9 © Copyright2015 Daniel J Edelman Inc. Intelligent Engagement Q7: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Shown: Top 2 Box, Agree; Among future buyers) Many future home buyers are concerned about their credit status and its impact on their purchase ability 60% of FUTURE BUYERS feel financially prepared to buy a home 40% of FUTURE BUYERS say their credit will hurt their ability to purchase a home 62% of FUTURE BUYERS are confident about their credit status Future Buyer CREDIT CONFIDENCE Future Buyer PREPAREDNESS Future Buyer CREDIT CONCERNS
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  10 © Copyright2015 Daniel J Edelman Inc. Intelligent Engagement Q7: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Shown: Top 2 Box, Agree; Among future buyers) Q8: Which of the following activities are you MOST focused on to improve your credit? (Shown: Top 2 choices among future buyers working to improve their credit, n=166) 55% 54% 28% 20% 16% Paying off debt Paying bills on time Keeping balances low on credit cards Protecting credit info from fraud and identity theft Not applying for / opening new credit accounts Future Buyer Credit Building Activities (Shown: Top 2 Choices Among Future Buyers) 58% of FUTURE BUYERS are working to improve their credit to qualify for a better home loan rate, but 35% of FUTURE BUYERS say they do not know what steps to take to qualify for a larger loan Some address these concerns by building their credit, but a third of future buyers do not know how to start
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  11 © Copyright2015 Daniel J Edelman Inc. Intelligent Engagement Q6: Have you already been pre-approved for a loan for your next home purchase? (Shown: Among future buyers) Q7: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Shown: Top 2 Box, Agree; Among future buyers) Future buyers are particularly anxious about getting a good home loan rate and most are not pre-approved Future Buyer LOAN PRE-APPROVAL Future Buyer PURCHASE DELAY Future Buyer LOAN RATE CONCERNS 41% of FUTURE BUYERS are concerned their credit score doesn’t qualify for the best home loan rate 45% of FUTURE BUYERS delayed a purchase to improve their credit to get better interest rates 67% Not Pre- approved
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  RECENT HOME BUYERS’ EXPERIENCE
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  13 © Copyright2015 Daniel J Edelman Inc. Intelligent Engagement Q11: Did you, yourself, check your credit report or credit score at any point in the home buying process? (Shown: Among recent buyers) Q13: You mentioned that you checked your credit report or credit score in the process of purchasing a home. Which of the following, if any, applied to you? (Shown: Among recent buyers who checked their credit score in the process of purchasing a home, n=192) Just half of recent buyers checked their credit early on, and many were surprised by something in their report 43% 30% 21% 14% My credit score was higher than I expected I was surprised by my credit score My credit score was lower than I expected There was something negative on my credit report I didn't know about NET 31% found something negative when they checked their credit report 51% 26% 23% When first considered purchasing Later Never Recent Buyer CREDIT CHECKING Recent Buyer CREDIT REACTIONS NET 77% checked their credit
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  14 © Copyright2015 Daniel J Edelman Inc. Intelligent Engagement 75% 74% 66% 58% 72% 61% 54% 47% Difficulty securing a loan Difficulty getting a good interest rate Difficulty getting a loan large enough to suit one's needs Requiring a co-signer Recent Home Buyer Impact Perceptions Poor Credit Identity Fraud Q10: In which of the following ways do you think having a poor credit status could affect a potential home buyer? (Shown: Among recent buyers) Q14: In which of the following ways do you think a victim of identify fraud could be affected when buying a home? (Shown: Among recent buyers) Recent buyers recognize the impact of poor credit, but fewer understand the effects of identity fraud -13 -12 -11 Difficulty securing a loan Difficulty getting a good interest rate Difficulty getting a loan large enough to suit one's needs Requiring a co-signer
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