Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey

Our Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey® (MLSS) complements our consumer-facing National Housing Survey® (NHS) with key insights from industry professionals. This online survey polls senior executives of Fannie Mae's lending customers to gather their views and experience with the mortgage market. The survey is conducted a few times a year, with each study focusing on one key topic to best highlight the specific opportunities and challenges facing the mortgage industry. With these findings, mortgage and housing professionals can better understand industry trends and assess their own business practices.

Mortgage Lenders See Immense Value in Simplifying and Standardizing Closing-Cost Descriptions
October 22, 2024​
In late July, we surveyed over 200 senior mortgage executives via our Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey® to gather insights from lenders about opportunities to simplify and standardize closing cost line-item descriptions, as well as their opinions on which cost areas would benefit from clearer definitions to increase transparency for borrowers.
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Mortgage Lenders Cite Talent Management and Cost-Cutting as Top Priorities
July 9, 2024​
Mortgage lenders cited "talent management and leadership" and "cost-cutting" as their two most important business priorities of 2024, according to our latest Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey® (MLSS).
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Mortgage Lenders View TSPs as Indispensable (but Expensive) Partners
April 18, 2024​
Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group surveyed nearly 200 senior mortgage executives to better understand how they feel about the TSP marketplace, as well as their experiences with the various services offered.
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Lenders Identify Risks and Opportunities for Condo Lending
February 21, 2024​
Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group (ESR) surveyed senior mortgage executives to gather input on existing condo project review requirements, and to help identify opportunities to streamline processes to better manage condo project risks.
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Mortgage Lenders Cite Operational Efficiency as Primary Motivation for AI Adoption
October 4, 2023​
In 2018, Fannie Mae surveyed senior mortgage executives to better understand lenders' views on AI/ML. This year, we re-surveyed mortgage lenders to assess how their views and experiences may have changed.
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Economic Pessimism Has Lenders Once Again Citing Cost-Cutting as Top Business Priority
July 20, 2023​
Mortgage lenders cited "cost-cutting" as their most important business priority for the second year in a row, according to Fannie Mae's Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey® (MLSS).
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For additional research related to the MLSS and NHS, please visit our Special Topics Archive.

Opinions, analyses, estimates, forecasts, beliefs, and other views of Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) Group or survey respondents included in these materials should not be construed as indicating Fannie Mae's business prospects or expected results, are based on a number of assumptions, and are subject to change without notice. How this information affects Fannie Mae will depend on many factors. Although the ESR Group bases its opinions, analyses, estimates, forecasts, and other views on information it considers reliable, it does not guarantee that the information provided in these materials is accurate, current, or suitable for any particular purpose. Changes in the assumptions or the information underlying these views could produce materially different results. The analyses, opinions, estimates, forecasts, and other views published by the ESR Group represent the views of that group or survey respondents as of the date indicated and do not necessarily represent the views of Fannie Mae or its management.