BAM Key Details:
- HomeServices of America surveyed 1,000 recent home buyers and found that 7 in 10 called their transaction a hassle, with 46% pointing to uncoordinated service providers as the biggest reason why.
- 69% expected their agent to coordinate the mortgage, title, and insurance side of the deal, and 87% said bundling those services under one roof appeals to them.
- 79% would prefer an integrated system coordinated by their agent the next time they buy, a preference that holds across every age group.
A new survey from HomeServices of America found almost 7 in 10 recent home buyers called their transaction a hassle.
About one in five (21%) said “very much so,” compared to 49% who said “somewhat.”
The leading complaint, by a wide margin, was uncoordinated service providers: the buyer’s agent, mortgage lender, title company, and homeowner’s insurance provider all working apart instead of together.
Buyers expect coordination from the beginning; 69% said they went into the process expecting their agent to run on point, coordinating the mortgage, title, and insurance side of the deal.
The survey polled 1,000 recent home buyers on what they expected from their agent, what they got, and what they’d want next time.
Here’s what the data says, and how agents can deliver a better experience for buyers, even when keeping everything “in house” is not an option.
The Hassle Buyers Feel, and Where It Comes From
Seven in 10 recent buyers said the transaction felt like a hassle in some form, with 21% calling it a big hassle, 49% calling it “somewhat” of one, and only 4% saying it wasn’t a hassle at all.
Another interesting reveal: the dissatisfaction gets stronger as household income rises. So, as income goes up, so does the expectation that the agent will manage all the moving parts and keep the process friction-free.
When buyers were asked what caused the most hassle, one answer beat every other option by a wide margin.
- Uncoordinated service providers (agent, mortgage lender, insurance company, title company): 46%
- Searching for a home online: 26%
- Touring homes: 17%
- Communicating with their agent: 8%
- Other: 3%
No matter who a buyer opts to work with, having a streamlined communication system with other service providers can lessen the hassle that your clients feel.
Buyers Expect Their Agent To Run Point (and Feel Let Down When That Doesn’t Happen)
More than half (55%) of the buyers surveyed hired their agent before choosing a mortgage lender, compared to 41% who picked a lender first. The agent relationship comes first for most buyers, and they carry that assumption of leadership into everything that follows.
Nearly 7 out of 10 (69%) said they expected their agent to coordinate mortgage, title, and insurance providers on their behalf.
Nearly 1 in 3 (28%) expected it “very much so,” and another 41% expected it “to some degree.”
Over three quarters (76%) of buyers in the survey said their agent recommended a mortgage provider, title company, or insurance company during the transaction, so plenty of agents do step into this role.
When that happened, buyers valued it:
- 47% called the recommendation “very” helpful.
- 48% called it “somewhat” helpful.
- Only 5% said it wasn’t valuable.
Buyers who explained why the recommendation helped pointed to a few consistent reasons.
- Saved time: 19%
- Trusted the agent’s expertise: 13%
- Trusted the agent’s advice in general: 12%
- Helped as a first-time buyer: 11%
The referral itself works. What frustrates buyers is everything that happens once other providers take over the deal.
What Buyers Want: One Coordinated Team
Nearly nine out of 10 (89%) of surveyed buyers said bundling their agent, mortgage lender, title company, and insurance provider under one roof appeals to them. About 8 in 10 (79%) said they’d prefer that kind of system, coordinated by their agent, the next time they buy.
The report found this preference holds across every age group.
Buyers explained the appeal in practical terms.
- Save time and make the transaction easier: 70%
- Worry less during the process: 22%
- Save money: 8%
Yet at least one in five (21%) said they’d rather shop for providers on their own.
As to why, those buyers are split between two reasons.
- 60% think they’ll find a better deal or lower rate shopping around.
- 37% think a bundled recommendation is a conflict of interest, or think it sounds sketchy.
Buyers Want Technology in a Supporting Role, Not Running the Show
Asked to pick an ideal setup for a future purchase, buyers leaned toward a hybrid model over a fully digital one:
- An experience led by people, supported by an app or website that ties mortgage, title, and insurance together: 39%
- An experience driven by in-person interaction: 35%
- An app or website-driven experience with little or no human interaction: 26%
Close to three quarters of buyers would rather have a human-led transaction than a tech-led one. The report notes that women hold the people-led-plus-app preference somewhat more than men do.
AI and other tools are changing how the work gets done. The buyer still wants a person running the deal.
That’s valid. Nobody wants an AI as the lead player in a high-stakes transaction. Imagine running into a major issue with your home purchase and having to sit through an hour of an AI phone screening before you get to a person.
Now imagine there’s no person to get to.
No one who can override AI’s default setting and fix its mistakes. No human being to talk to who can make the necessary calls and get the deal back on track.
Most buyers would agree: the lead role is designed for a human. Even the best tech can only play a supporting role.
How Can Agents Make the Experience Better
The opening is already there. Nearly 7 in 10 buyers walk into the process expecting their agent to coordinate the deal, and when agents step into that role, buyers reward it.
Here are five ways to put that expectation to work:
- Set the expectation early. Tell buyers up front, at the first meeting, how you collaborate with mortgage, title, and insurance professionals in your market.
- Build a real bench of providers. Keep a short list of mortgage, title, and insurance contacts ready to go, so a referral is a warm handoff.
- Stay involved through closing. The complaint buyers raise happens once the deal moves into the hands of other providers, after the introduction is made. Don’t hand a buyer off and disappear. Check in with every provider through closing.
- Address the trust question. 37% of buyers who’d rather shop on their own think a bundled recommendation is a conflict of interest. Tell buyers they aren’t locked into any one provider and can shop the recommendation if they want to.
- Use tech to support the work. Buyers want visibility and updates while a person still runs the deal. A shared tracker or portal can carry status updates across providers, while the agent stays the one buyers call.
Bundled recommendations can definitely raise questions in the buyer’s mind as to whether those are the best people for each role, or whether the agent is recommending them because of a quid pro quo arrangement.
Having multiple vetted options for each, and encouraging your buyers to shop around, is more likely to build trust than “I send all my buyers to this lender.”
Look at the process you have now for your homebuyers and ask whether each step is designed to build trust and deliver an optimal experience for them.
What do you already have in place that shows them you’ve thought of everything and you’ll do what it takes to help them find and purchase the right home for them?
And is there anything in this study that will change your process moving forward?
