"After climbing for much of 2018, mortgage rates have been falling since the beginning of the year. The average mortgage APR (annual percentage rate) was recently at 4.28%, according to Freddie Mac, compared to a high of 5% in 2018. But just because rates are down doesn't mean you're getting a good deal, says Consumer Reports."

“'Many homebuyers get intimidated by the mortgage process and just go with whatever is easiest, usually what their local bank is offering,' says Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate​.com. 'Smart buyers shop around to uncover the lowest offers.'”

According to AudienceSCAN, within the last month, 68.7% of Mortgage Refinancing Clients have done banking online. They've also used a search engine to research services they were considering in that same amount of time. They were most likely using Google, the preferred search engine of 90.5% of these consumers. Only 21.5% of them will go past the first page of search results, though.

"A mortgage broker can shop among many lenders and get better rates than you might on your own. But be aware that brokers get paid by the banks, not you, so check them out carefully."

“'If you go the mortgage broker route, get recommendations from friends or colleagues who have had a good experience with a particular mortgage broker in the past,' says McBride."

"Mortgage brokers can save you money. For example, when Consumer Reports compared the best rate it could find on the Quicken Loans website with the best rate from a broker who worked with United Wholesale Mortgage, the broker got a rate that was half a percent less. And while the rate it found came with points, the deal the broker offered required zero points."

How can mortgage brokers best promote the ease of their services to Mortgage Refinancing Clients? According to AudienceSCAN, last year, these consumers took action after hearing both digital and over-​the-​air radio ads (70.1%), receiving direct mail ads (69.4%), receiving an email ad (66.7%) and seeing ads in both digital and printed newspapers (65.3%). Additionally, the TV is where 40.3% of these consumers get most of their local news and, last year, 76% were driven to action by TV commercials.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.