Inflation Drives Consumers to Seek Alternative Forms of Credit
According to a report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the blistering consumer price index was 9.1 percent higher in June 2023 than it was a year ago and 1.3 percent higher than in May, revealing scant signs of progress in the fight against inflation. This has created opportunities elsewhere; financial institutions are leveraging credit cards and home equity lending to extend credit to consumers.
A Resurgent Market for Home Equity Lending
Over the last two years, American homeowners have spent more time at home. With so many Americans working, exercising, and attending school from home, homeowners are looking to upgrade their spaces and invest in the places where they spend most of their time. Many people who have recently purchased a new home are looking for ways to make it feel more like a home, such as purchasing a couch to fit the new living room. With the average-priced home up 42 percent in value since the pandemic began, current homeowners with mortgages have an average of $207,000 in equity and in the first quarter of 2023, 44.9 percent of the homes in the United States were considered “equity-rich,” meaning the balance of the loan on the home was 50 percent or less of the estimated market value.
Acting on this knowledge is an excellent example of anticipating a customer’s needs. Customers in these circumstances are likely to qualify for a home equity line of credit (HELOC).
Between January and May 2023, fixed 30-year mortgage rates increased from 3% to over 5%. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the average monthly payment on a new mortgage has gone up by $513 since 2008. This is because interest rates and home prices have gone up quickly.
Nonetheless, HELOCs have grown significantly in popularity in the last year because they allow homeowners to withdraw cash from their homes without changing the interest rate on their entire mortgage loan. According to TransUnion, while a borrower’s interest rate on a HELOC may be higher than the interest rate on the entire mortgage, it is still likely to be lower than the interest rate on a personal loan.
Targeting the Right Audience
With HELOC and home equity financing more readily within reach of homeowners, lenders need to step up marketing efforts and enhance overall communication with borrowers to engage them in a conversation about the benefits of leveraging their home equity. There is a lot of opportunities available for smart lenders who have the right home equity marketing in place.
Capture the Growth Potential
The top home equity lenders must focus on six key actions to best position themselves, capture a market that is gradually coming back to life, and capitalize on a tremendous opportunity.
- Boost their digital ecosystem
- Integrate and optimize search engine marketing
- Leverage data as a strategic asset
- Excel at turning leads to loan applications
- Bring out a customer-centric fulfillment model
- Streamline the fulfillment process
Wrapping up:
We cannot, unfortunately, predict the future. But we can prepare for it. A HELOC can give you the financial flexibility you need to deal with whatever comes your way, good or bad. Whatever the situation, you’ll be ready to seize incredible opportunities or protect yourself from the stress that life frequently throws at us. According to a recent Bankrate survey, 14 percent of millennial mortgage holders say they’d tap home equity to bankroll a vacation, compared with just 4 percent of Generation X and 3 percent of baby boomers who believe the same.
Discover all that Tavant can do for you:
Tavant leverages its heuristics research, in-depth industry knowledge, and engineering expertise to provide a simple and frictionless experience to consumers tapping into the home equity market. We expanded our Touchless Lending® platform for the lending industry’s home equity line of business and offer software that enables HELOC to help users deliver a seamless channel, device, and interaction-agnostic experience across the loan application process. Over the last 12 months, Tavant has helped home equity lenders serve five times more customers than they ever served as a business, providing them with the scale to meet their borrowers’ demands. Touchless Lending® is the industry’s leading AI digital platform that maximizes the use of data-driven processes in the automation of the loan origination lifecycle. To learn more, reach out to us at [email protected].
