The fallout of the mortgage boom and bust appears to have had little affect on borrower mentality when it comes to buying a home, with US borrowers spend more time researching automotive purchases and travel options than mortgages, based on a survey by online mortgage marketplace Zillow. The survey — conducted on more than 2,700 adults by market research firm Harris Interactive — found that 31% of Americans spend less than two hours researching their home loan. Two hours represents the average amount of time spent researching a vacation or computer purchase, or half the amount of time spent researching a new car, Zillow said. The average home loan costs five times more than the average car and 80 times more than the average vacation, the company found: Survey respondents indicate they are spending no more time researching a mortgage today than they did in 2008. Borrowers who took out a mortgage in the last five years received fewer quotes — an average three versus four — than in 2008. “Starting from our first survey two years ago, I’ve been surprised that people spend more time shopping for cars and televisions than they do researching mortgages,” said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries, in an e-mailed statement. “I’m further surprised that they spend no more time shopping for mortgages now than they did two years ago, even in the midst of an unprecedented foreclosure crisis.” Humphries added: “People spend countless hours shopping for the perfect home, yet few realize that small differences in the interest rate or discount points can add tens of thousands of dollars to the overall cost of the home.” Write to Diana Golobay.

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