RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifty-four
percent of mortgage industry professionals identified rising
interest rates as the greatest obstacle facing the housing market
in 2019, according to a recent survey executed by Genworth Mortgage
Insurance, an operating segment of Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:
GNW). The next highest-ranked obstacles were a lack of affordable
housing supply (37 percent), GSE reform (seven percent) and the
pending expiration of the Qualified Mortgage patch (two percent)
according to the survey, which polled 203 mortgage industry
executives at the 2018 Mortgage Bankers Association Annual
Convention and Expo.
When looking specifically at the first-time homebuyer
demographic, a majority (58 percent) of those surveyed cited the
sparse availability of affordable housing as the most impactful
obstacle to those trying to enter the housing market. Additionally,
lack of consumer knowledge about the homebuying process (20
percent) is seen as a barrier to entry by professionals, who also
noted interest rates (13 percent) and lack of appropriate credit
history (nine percent) as lesser hurdles.
"While rising interest rates and a lack of affordable housing
supply continue to drive increase in home prices, first-time
homebuyers have not wavered in their efforts to buy homes," said
Rohit Gupta, President and CEO,
Genworth Mortgage Insurance. "We continue to stress the importance
of education and optionality for this demographic to set them up
for success. Their growing presence in the purchase market will
require continued support and customization as they continue to
play a meaningful role and drive demand in the housing market."
Additional findings from this survey are included below,
providing insight into industry viewpoints regarding technology
integrations, the impact of housing policy and borrower risk
profiles.
Technology needed in loan application submission and
closing process to improve customer experience
While the
housing industry has seen rapid advancement over the past few years
due to the influx of new technologies, there is still opportunity
for new tools to be introduced that will enhance customer
engagement. Eighty-five percent of industry executives believe that
integrating technology into the loan application submission process
(41 percent) and/or the closing process (44 percent) will provide
the strongest improvements to the customer experience. 15 percent
of respondents identified either the loan inquiry process or
private mortgage insurance as areas where technology could make a
large improvement.
Borrowers' risk profiles see minor
improvements
While the housing market is expected to
undergo some turbulence over the coming year, industry
professionals are beginning to notice small improvements in the
risk profiles of borrowers looking to enter the market. Of those
surveyed, 41 percent noted a small improvement in the quality of
borrower they were seeing, while 53 percent saw no change to a
small decline in these profiles. At the top and bottom ends, five
percent identified a significant increase in the risk profiles they
were viewing while only one percent saw a significant
decline.
Regulatory policy not likely to support increase in
affordable housing
When it comes to fixing the
disparity in available housing inventory, a majority of mortgage
executives (62 percent) do not believe that regulatory policy
changes introduced over the next 12-24 months will support the
construction of more affordable homes ($300,000 and below). The shortage of affordable
housing options in the market was earlier identified by those
surveyed as a major hurdle for new entrants into the market, as
well as the overall success of the housing market in 2019.
About Genworth Financial
Genworth Financial, Inc.
(NYSE: GNW) is a Fortune 500 insurance holding company committed to
helping families achieve the dream of homeownership and address the
financial challenges of aging through its leadership positions in
mortgage insurance and long term care insurance. Headquartered
in Richmond, Virginia,
Genworth traces its roots back to 1871 and became a public company
in 2004. For more information, visit genworth.com.
From time to time, Genworth releases important information via
postings on its corporate website. Accordingly, investors and other
interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive automatic
email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding
new postings. Enrollment information is found under the "Investors"
section of genworth.com. From time to time, Genworth's
publicly traded subsidiaries, Genworth MI Canada Inc. and Genworth
Mortgage Insurance Australia Limited, separately release financial
and other information about their operations. This information can
be found
at http://genworth.ca and http://www.genworth.com.au.
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SOURCE Genworth Financial, Inc.