Report · Culture

Interest rates matter most to Americans choosing a mortgage lender

Reading

No factor outranks interest rates when Americans choose a mortgage lender, named by 70% in a Verasight survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted Aug. 20-25, 2025. Financial incentives or discounts follow (57%), then the speed of approval (42%).

About a third value a lender's reputation for fairness across racial and ethnic lines (35%), a quarter its online or mobile options (24%), and one-in-five its support for sustainable housing (20%); 6% name none of these.

Topline

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Selected responses

Interest rates matter most to Americans choosing a mortgage lender.

Which of the following factors would you consider most important when choosing a mortgage lender during the home buying process?

  • Interest rates 70.1%
  • Financial incentives or discounts (e.g. lower fees, down payment assistance) 56.8%
  • Approval process speed 42.4%
  • Lender's reputation for fairness in dealing with applicants of different races or ethnicities 34.9%
  • Availability of online or mobile application options 24.4%
  • Lender's reputation for supporting sustainable or climate-conscious housing practices 19.6%
  • None of the above 5.9%

2025 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.1%

ASA Omnibus Survey

View source

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-08-20 → 2025-08-25
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.1%
Module
ASA Omnibus Survey

Source

Citation

ASA Omnibus Survey, fielded August 20-25, 2025, N=1,000 United States adults, +/- 3.1%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/asa-2025

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
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Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

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