This past year saw a major uptick in mortgages going to traditionally underserved groups, a new study from digital mortgage company Better.com revealed Monday.
The report by the company highlighted that 2019 was dominated by millennials, minorities, LGBT married couples, single women and married women that outearned their husbands.
“It was hugely gratifying for me to consider the fact that Better.com doesn’t do any specific targeting to any of the underserved constituencies that made up the largest swath of our customer base in 2019,” Vishal Garg, CEO and founder of Better.com, said in a statement.
Garg and his team believe that the rise of fintech startups and the use of machine-learning has allowed a more digitally-savvy consumer to gain access to home loans, therefore allowing traditionally underserved groups more access as well.
“The huge uptick we saw in these groups proves that our technology has paved the way for these previously-marginalized folks to become homeowners,” Garg said. “Our findings suggest that the long-standing discrimination faced by many when it comes to getting a home loan can be significantly reduced through the use of technology to help prevent bias.”
While LGBTQ homeownership remains 16 percent below the national average, Better.com saw a 10 times increase in lending to LGBTQ married couples in 2019.
The number of single female homebuyers grew from 15 to 18 percent and in 2019, Better.com found that one in three married women who got a loan from the company did not put their husband on the loan application.
At a time when much is written about the millennial gap in homeownership, Better.com also saw a 250 percent increase in millennials getting loans and a 675 percent increase in Gen Z homebuyers. An estimated 75 percent of Better.com’s borrowers were under the age of 45 in 2019, which is higher than the national rate of buyers in the same age bracket.
Better.com also reported a 532 percent increase in Hispanic borrowers between the ages of 30 and 40 and a 411 percent increase in African American borrowers between the ages of 30 and 40.
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