More first-time homebuyers turning to Google for information on mortgages

More first-time homebuyers are looking online for information on purchasing a home.

Chase Home Lending paired with Google to release “Search for Home Snapshot,” in which they analyzed searches around homebuying information. The report found that searches for first-time homebuying topics continue to increase. So far this year, 44 percent of searches about mortgages were from first-time buyers, an increase of 11 percent from last year. Chase found that 36 percent of the bank’s new mortgages were for buyers under 35 in 2016, an increase of 16 percent from 2015.

“For many people, the homebuying process is filled with research. For millennials and first-time homebuyers, we know it’s particularly complex and they often turn to Google for answers to their questions about financing, for example,” said Managing Director of Financial Services of Google Suzie Reider.

Lack of inventory and rising prices remain a concern. In 2016, there were 34 percent more searches about housing affordability, compared to the previous year. Interestingly, mansions topped the list of most-searched style of home, followed by yurts, bungalows, brownstones and minkas. Rental apartments also remained a strong source of searches, making up 46 percent of home type searches in 2016.

Not surprisingly, the report found that more people are using their phones to learn about mortgages. The report found that mobile searches for mortgage-related information information on home equity grew between 30 to 50 percent each year from 2013-2016.

Across the country, the South represents the most people looking online for more information on mortgages at 37 percent, while the the Northeast represented 19 percent of mortgage searches.