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Mortgage customer satisfaction has declined in 2024 according to a new J.D. Power study.

The 2024 U.S. Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study showed that overall mortgage customer satisfaction dropped after an increase in 2023. J.D. Power credits lenders trimming their staff in the reduction of quality customer service.

Lenders that actively advise clients throughout the lending process also drive significantly higher customer satisfaction scores according to J.D. Power. The satisfaction score for trust among borrowers who strongly rely on the lender’s expertise to get through the borrowing process was 133 points higher than among those borrowers who do not strongly rely on the lender’s expertise.

“The variability in rates and higher costs for buyers increases the importance of understanding consumers’ individual situations,” Bruce Gehrke, senior director of wealth and lending intelligence at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “Consistently, we’re seeing that lenders that play an active advisory role in helping their clients navigate the current market are earning significantly higher customer satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy scores than those that are treating mortgage lending as a transactional process.”

Overall satisfaction is 41 points higher when lenders engage early with customers, connecting with them when they are first thinking about purchasing a home, compared with overall satisfaction when lenders get involved once customers are already shopping for a home. Satisfaction is 107 points lower when lenders get involved at the time customers are getting ready to apply for a mortgage.

Prosperity Home Mortgage ranked highest in mortgage origination satisfaction according to the study. Movement Mortgage ranked second and Bank of America ranked third.