Published March 4, 2026
A big homebuying headache is going away soon
Homebuyers will no longer be hit with a flood of unsolicited financing options when they apply for a mortgage approval, the end result of a law banning “trigger leads.”
The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, signed into law last year, kicks in on March 5. It allows homebuyers to sue for violations, with potential damages reaching up to $1,500 and violators also subject to regulatory enforcement.
For years now, when a buyer has applied for a mortgage, a professional has run a check on that person's credit. Credit agencies — and often third-party marketing firms — are alerted to this and turn around to tell other mortgage lenders and intermediaries that the person is looking for a mortgage, a concept called a trigger lead, essentially selling them the opportunity to reach out to the buyer.
With the growth of technology, the practice has led to buyers being inundated with dozens or hundreds of calls or text messages from lenders of all stripes, as well as potential scammers. Mortgage lenders have stressed that consumers often believe it is the lender that is selling the access, leading to damaged client relationships.
“The ban on the sale of trigger leads is an important step toward improving the consumer experience when shopping for a loan. Consumers should be able to compare offers without facing a wave of unsolicited calls and offers triggered by their application activity,” said Patrick Brennan, head of government relations at LendingTree, in a statement. ”This change will help create a more secure, less confusing experience while preserving fair competition that benefits borrowers.”
The problem is widespread, with 74% of Americans who applied for a loan or insurance policy saying they have received unwanted communications, and 56% saying they got between 10 and 50 individual instances of unwanted communication, according to LendingTree research. Meanwhile, 83% of people who have received those communications have said it's bothersome, and 54% have said it's confusing.
“Despite the severity of these disturbances, most consumers don’t know who to blame. When asked who’s responsible for the unwanted communication, 84% pointed to marketplaces, financial institutions and/or the federal government. But only 16% realize it’s from credit bureaus selling your information as a marketing tool,” LendingTree said in a report with its survey findings.
Experts told The Playbook after the law was passed last year that the “abusive” use of trigger leads meant some consumers ended up getting 100 messages or phone calls in a single day after applying for a mortgage, while others were confused by callers suggesting they were calling on behalf of their lender — and offering new and deceptive terms. Essentially, a practice that was designed to provide a consumer with more options has become a burden.
"The new ban on trigger leads is a win for consumer privacy that finally aligns the mortgage process with borrower expectations," said Peter Idziak, a senior associate at Polunsky Beitel Green, a law firm for residential mortgage lenders. "It allows lenders to focus on building trust and delivering value to their clients without the distraction of a constant barrage of unsolicited third-party calls and texts borrowers have been receiving."
Challenges in the housing market
The new law comes into play in a housing market with a number of barriers to closing deals.
Data from real estate firm Redfin Corp. found that more than 40,000 home purchases were canceled in December, representing 16.3% of homes under contract that month. That made December the month with the highest share of cancellations out of any month back to 2017, when Redfin began tracking that data.
While buyers frequently back out of deals during what’s called the “inspection contingency” — due to structural or other issues with their prospective home purchase — Redfin noted that their primary reason could still have been realizing that mortgage payments were too expensive or finding better options on the market.
A report from property data and real estate analytics firm ATTOM earlier this year noted that 99% of counties examined nationwide saw the median single-family home and condo become less affordable during the fourth quarter of 2025 over the fourth quarter of 2024.
Median home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, from $327,100 in the fourth quarter of 2019 to $442,600 in the fourth quarter of 2022 — a 35% increase, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Since then, sale prices have largely leveled off, with the median price standing at $419,300 in the fourth quarter of 2024 and $405,300 at the end of last year.
A number of real estate agents are also struggling to close deals for a separate reason: the surging cost of homeowners insurance. That’s according to Redfin's 2025 Industry Survey, which published last April. That research found that 47% of surveyed agents said they have encountered more issues with home insurance during a transaction over the past year compared to the year before it.
Most potential homebuyers are expecting the cost of homeowners insurance to skyrocket in the coming years and they're changing their search strategy because of it.
