TULSA, Okla. — Most homebuyers skip mortgage shopping — and a new study shows it's costing them thousands of dollars a year.
A new Bankrate study finds that most borrowers fail to shop around for the best mortgage rate, and the cost of that oversight adds up fast. Nationally, the typical borrower overpays more than $3,300 a year by not comparing rates. In Oklahoma, about 89% of borrowers overpay, at an average cost of about $2,600 a year.
Bankrate analyst Alex Gailey said the mortgage shopping process often gets pushed aside during the already stressful homebuying experience.
"It can feel very overwhelming when you're also trying to buy a home, and you're trying to juggle all these things, and so it's very easy to just kind of put the mortgage shopping process on the back burner and just focus on everything else," Gailey said.
Homeowner Erika Salmeron told 2 News Oklahoma her realtor encouraged her and her husband to shop around before choosing a mortgage lender.
"My husband and I were first time buyers, the realtor that we had was really helpful on that so she advised us to shop around and see what different banks or lenders and see what rates they will offer us," Salmeron said.
Salmeron said she noticed differences between lenders when she was shopping, but added that today's rate environment is a different story than when she bought.
"Yeah, it wasn't that much at the time. Like I said, the rates were low at that time but I'm pretty sure today they're not the same," Salmeron said.
Gailey said most borrowers also fail to shop around for the best rates when looking to refinance. She noted that while the process isn't simple, rate comparison sites are available online, and realtors, family, and friends can recommend lenders.
"It is a pain that pays off, and I, I definitely don't want to make it seem like it's a really simple, easy process. It certainly does take time and effort, but, um, it's gonna pay off in the end. And our research shows that," Gailey said.
Not shopping around risks a costly mistake — simply accepting the first rate a lender offers could mean overpaying by thousands of dollars each year.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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