Women pay more for mortgages – what’s to be done?

CEO of OwnUp believes this is a systemic problem that needs to be dealt with. The 'why' is much less important than the 'what,' he said.

Hello, LOs!    As Alaska goes, so does the nation? Well, that's how it should be, at least when it comes to mortgages.    Massachusetts-based lending startup OwnUp analyzed some HMDA data and found what other academic studies had discovered: in 49 out of 50 states, women pay higher mortgage rates than men. This is despite the fact that women are less likely to default than men. Alaska was the lone exception: women there on average paid 3.21%, while men paid 3.23%, according to the latest HMDA data (the OwnUp analysis covers just conventional 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages).    So let's talk about this!

Patrick Boyaggi, CEO of OwnUp, believes this is a systemic problem that needs to be dealt with. The 'why' is much less important than the 'what,' he said. 

 

"I am not certain everybody is aware of it or believes it's a real issue," Boyaggi said. "We believe it is a systemic-wide problem...women are not being treated fairly."

 

In Boyaggi's view, educating consumers about their options is the way to achieve greater equality. "And then you get down to a very clear and explicit explanation for what you can do to get better: and that is, you can shop, and you can negotiate." 

 

Not price-shopping or negotiating can lead to missed opportunities over the long run, he said: In Mississippi, a woman who receives a mortgage at 3.46% – 10 bps higher than what a man receives on average – will pay more than $7,000 extra over the course of a 30-year period. 

 

LOs – what's your take on this? Have you noticed that women are less likely to shop around and/or negotiate? How should this be addressed? As always, I welcome your feedback! Email me anonymously at jkleimann@housingwire.com. 

 

James Kleimann

Managing Editor, HousingWire

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