A national mortgage survey of homeowners across all 50 states measures how many buyers regret aspects of their mortgage experience, what they say they would do differently, and which buyer segments carry the most regret.
Updated: March 16, 2026
Overall Homebuyer Regret Rate
Buying a home is one of the largest financial decisions most people make. Yet a meaningful share of homeowners walk away from the process wishing they had done something differently.
According to our national mortgage survey of homeowners across all 50 states, 13.5% of purchase borrowers express regret about their mortgage experience. That figure is consistent across all four U.S. regions, confirming that mortgage regret is not a regional market condition. It reflects patterns in the homebuying process itself.
| Segment | Regret Rate |
|---|---|
| All purchase borrowers (national) | 13.5% |
| Under $300,000 buyers | 14.1% |
| $300,000-$600,000 buyers | 15.8% |
| Over $600,000 buyers | 10.7% |
| Buyers aged 18-34 | 14.6% |
| Buyers aged 35-44 | 12.7% |
| Buyers aged 45-54 | 14.5% |
| Buyers aged 55+ | 12.2% |
The highest regret rate belongs to buyers in the $300,000-$600,000 price tier at 15.8%, while luxury buyers above $600,000 report the lowest at 10.7%. Age group differences are narrower, with buyers aged 55+ reporting the least regret (12.2%) and buyers aged 18-34 reporting the most (14.6%).
What Homebuyers Say They Would Do Differently
The survey asked buyers directly: if you could go through the mortgage process again, what would you change? Four clear answers emerge, all pointing to gaps in the origination process rather than the housing market itself.
| What Buyers Would Change | % of Buyers |
|---|---|
| Would have shopped more lenders | 20.9% |
| Would have chosen a different loan type | 19.8% |
| Would have locked their rate sooner | 17.8% |
| Would have put more money down | 17.2% |
Shopping more lenders is the single most common regret at 20.9%, narrowly ahead of loan type regret at 19.8%. What is notable is how closely these four regrets are bunched together. No single mistake dominates. Buyers are spread across multiple areas of the process, which suggests the guidance gap is not in one place but throughout the origination experience.
Homebuyer Regret by Age Group
Regret patterns shift meaningfully across age groups, with each cohort pointing to a different part of the process as their biggest miss.
| Age Group | Shop More | Lock Sooner | Different Loan Type | More Down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-34 | 28.7% | 4.6% | 27.9% | 15.1% |
| 35-44 | 20.4% | 31.9% | 19.0% | 10.6% |
| 45-54 | 16.8% | 21.2% | 8.6% | 20.2% |
| 55+ | 17.7% | 13.5% | 23.5% | 22.8% |
Three patterns stand out. First, buyers aged 18-34 are far more likely to regret their loan type choice (27.9%) and wish they had shopped more (28.7%) than any other group. Both connect to their low loan estimate confidence score of 3.34 out of 5, the lowest of any age group. Second, buyers aged 35-44 are by far the most likely to regret not locking their rate sooner at 31.9%, more than double any other age group. Third, buyers aged 45-54 carry the least loan type regret (8.6%), consistent with their higher process confidence and negotiation rates.
For a detailed breakdown of first-time and younger buyer mortgage data, see our first-time homebuyer statistics.
Homebuyer Regret by Home Value Tier
The $300,000-$600,000 price tier carries the highest mortgage regret of any segment in the survey, and the pattern holds across all four U.S. regions without exception.
| Home Value Tier | Overall Regret | Shop More | Different Loan Type | Lock Sooner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $300,000 | 14.1% | 16.6% | 19.0% | 24.6% |
| $300,000-$600,000 | 15.8% | 27.7% | 22.7% | 13.4% |
| Over $600,000 | 10.7% | 18.4% | 17.7% | 15.4% |
The mid-market finding is counterintuitive. Buyers in the $300,000-$600,000 range are active researchers. They compare 2.74 lenders on average, close to the national average, and pay close attention to fees. Yet 27.7% of them wish they had shopped more lenders and 22.7% wish they had chosen a different loan type. Active research did not prevent regret.
This price tier sits between two segments that tend to receive more dedicated guidance: entry-level buyers who often benefit from first-time buyer programs, and luxury buyers who attract more attentive lender service. Mid-market buyers are engaged but largely on their own, which is reflected in their outcomes.
Luxury buyers above $600,000 report the lowest overall regret at 10.7%, but they carry the highest rate of ending up with a rate higher than expected at 39.4%. High satisfaction and higher-than-expected costs can coexist when buyers have the financial flexibility to absorb the difference.
Rate Outcomes: How Often Buyers Pay More Than Expected
One of the clearest measures of mortgage process quality is whether buyers end up with a rate close to what they expected when they started shopping. The survey results show a nearly even three-way split nationally.
| Final Rate vs. Expectation | All Buyers |
|---|---|
| Rate came in lower than expected | 33.2% |
| Rate came in the same as expected | 32.5% |
| Rate came in higher than expected | 34.3% |
The near-even split across all three outcomes suggests that for most buyers, the final rate is essentially unpredictable relative to their initial expectations. That is not a market condition. It is a communication and process gap between what buyers are told during shopping and what they actually pay at closing.
The age breakdown reveals the group most exposed to this gap. Among buyers aged 18-34, 60.2% ended up with a rate higher than expected, compared to 28.3% for buyers aged 45-54 and 22.8% for buyers aged 55+. The home value breakdown shows a similar pattern: buyers above $600,000 end up with a higher-than-expected rate 39.4% of the time, compared to 30.4% for entry-level buyers.
| Segment | Rate Higher Than Expected |
|---|---|
| All buyers (national) | 34.3% |
| Buyers aged 18-34 | 60.2% |
| Buyers aged 35-44 | 25.9% |
| Buyers aged 45-54 | 28.3% |
| Buyers aged 55+ | 22.8% |
| Under $300,000 buyers | 30.4% |
| $300,000-$600,000 buyers | 33.0% |
| Over $600,000 buyers | 39.4% |
How to Reduce Your Risk of Mortgage Regret
The survey data points to four areas where buyers consistently wish they had acted differently. Each is addressable before you commit to a lender.
- Shop at least three lenders before deciding. Shopping more lenders is the number one regret across all age groups and price tiers. Request Loan Estimates from at least three lenders within the same 48-hour window so the quotes are comparable.
- Ask about all available loan types before choosing. Nearly 1 in 5 buyers regrets their loan type choice. Ask your lender to explain the difference between 30-year fixed, 15-year fixed, FHA, VA, and adjustable-rate options for your specific financial situation before you apply.
- Lock your rate as soon as you are comfortable with it. Rate lock regret is particularly high among 35-44 buyers at 31.9%. If a lender quotes you a rate you are satisfied with, ask about locking it in rather than waiting for rates to improve further.
- Run the numbers on a larger down payment. Putting more money down reduces your loan balance, eliminates PMI above 20%, and often qualifies you for a better rate. The 17.2% of buyers who regret not putting more down made that decision without fully modeling the long-term cost difference.
Data sourced from the MFP National Mortgage Survey, conducted across all 50 states and Washington D.C. Margin of error +/-5% at 96% confidence for large states. Full methodology and citation guide available at myfinancialprograms.com/research/mortgage-satisfaction/.