Mortgage Lender Web Sites Compared for Ease of Use and Informativeness

Epic Web Searches for a Competitive Rate Made Easier by Some Sites; Others Fall Short

New York, NY (PRWEB) September 11, 2008 -- With the credit crisis making it harder to get a good rate on a mortgage, conducting an epic online search is now a basic requirement for anyone seeking a loan. But which lender web sites are the most helpful? According to a new report released today by researchers at Change Sciences Group, most online rate quote processes are hindered by poor usability and readability, making them much harder to understand than they need to be.

To jump to an overview of the report visit:

http://www.ChangeSciences.com/Reports/Mortgage-Sites.

Using advanced software models that simulate how prospects interact with sites, the research looks at what people experienced online over the last month as they attempted to research mortgage rates and terms and apply online on 18 leading lender sites. Data highlights include the following.

- The most informative and easy to read rate quote is more than five times better than the poorest and more than three times better than average.

- The longest online application is about two times longer than the shortest.

- Most mortgage sites have at least once instance of a show stopping navigation problem, readability problem, or layout problem.

"More often than not, consumers are faced with rate quotes that are harder to understand than they need to be. Long and tedious online applications are too often the norm," said Steve Ellis, a Change Sciences partner, and one of the authors of the report. "Lenders that improve ease of use will not just increase the number of new applications. They will improve the quality of new applications, since an informed prospect is a better prospect."

The top three sites overall are Wachovia, ditech, and E-LOAN.

Other sites evaluated in the research include: Bank of America, BB&T, Capital One, Chase, CitiMortgage, ERA Mortgage, GMAC Mortgage, HSBC, National City Mortgage, PNC, Quicken Loans, Regions, SunTrust Mortgage, US Bank, and Wells Fargo.

For a complete overview of the report, including a full list of site rankings, more data highlights, and sample data visit:

http://www.ChangeSciences.com/Reports/Mortgage-Sites.

About Change Sciences Group

Change Sciences was founded in January 2000 to help companies optimize online business by basing decisions on how people use technology while they live, work, and play.

Contact:

Rhonda Mills

Change Sciences Group, Inc.

888-864-1160 x731

www.ChangeSciences.com

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