In a joint statement, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released the latest loan-level data collected through the National Survey of Mortgage Originations (NSMO) this week.
The data provides “up-to-date mortgage performance and credit information for a nationally representative sample of mortgage borrowers from 2013 through 2021,” the agency explained.
The FHFA and CFPB have been sending surveys to recent mortgage borrowers on a quarterly basis since 2014 to gather feedback on a range of market ideas, including consumers' experiences with the mortgage process, future expectations, and overall market perceptions. The latest release extends the available dataset to include data through 2021.
“NSMO provides a unique perspective on mortgage borrowers and helps uncover underlying trends that can identify emerging issues in mortgage lending,” Sati Patravansh, deputy director of FHFA's Office of Data and Statistics, said in a statement. “The data released today provides insights into consumer behavior and borrower experiences, leading to better analysis of how the mortgage process can be improved for future borrowers.”
The CFPB is focusing on additional insights into the appraisal process and homeowners' willingness to relocate, according to Jason Brown, the CFPB's deputy director for research.
“This year's survey provides new insights into the appraisal satisfaction and relocation intentions of borrowers taking out new mortgages,” Brown said in a statement. “By releasing the public-use files, we invite researchers to help us understand the challenges consumers face and find ways to improve the consumer marketplace.”
The new dataset also includes insights from three additional questions asked of borrowers in the survey for the first time starting in 2021.
“When asked about their satisfaction with the assessment, 70 percent of respondents said they were very satisfied with their property assessment, 23 percent said they were somewhat satisfied, and 6 percent said they were not satisfied at all,” the agency said. “When asked if they were willing to relocate from their primary residence, 50 percent of respondents said they did not want to relocate, 20 percent said they were unsure whether they would relocate, 25 percent said they were willing and able to relocate, and 5 percent said they were willing but unable to relocate.”
Additionally, 8% of survey respondents said that “selected facilities for people with disabilities” was an important factor when choosing a mortgage lender or broker.
The NSMO public use files can be accessed online on FHFA's website.