Zillow.com Officially Launches Zillow Mortgage Marketplace

Real estate Web site Zillow.com today announced the launch of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, an open and transparent lending marketplace, offering borrowers an anonymous and hassle-free way to request custom loan quotes directly from registered lenders. In turn, lenders can respond to an unlimited number of loan quote requests directly from borrowers — for free. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace extends Zillow into another crucial facet of home ownership, and includes the industry’s first-ever lender public feedback system where borrowers rate the lenders they choose to contact.

Similar to the company’s initial real estate launch with Zestimate® values two years ago, Zillow developed Mortgage Marketplace to add information and transparency to what has traditionally been a confusing process for borrowers. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace gives borrowers greater control and more information to help them find, research and select the right lender and loan.

“It’s clear from our customer research and from reading today’s headlines that borrowers need a better way to research and shop for home loans,” said Rich Barton, CEO and co-founder of Zillow.com. “Loan shoppers tell us they want real quotes — not just teaser rates — when doing their research online, and they want to control who and when they contact by shopping anonymously until they are ready to talk. There is an obvious need for a transparent, free marketplace, and with this in mind, we are pleased to enter a new business today with the launch of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.”

To access Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, simply click on the new “Mortgages” tab on Zillow.com. Potential borrowers can then request customized loan quotes by filling out a detailed loan request form. Borrowers do not provide any personally identifiable information to the lender — no name, address, phone number or Social Security number. While identity is omitted, lenders are provided enough detail to generate quotes with real rates, customized to the borrower’s circumstances. Once the borrower submits a request, any lender visiting Zillow can browse among outstanding requests and view competing quotes offered by other lenders. However, only lenders who have registered on Zillow and been confirmed as mortgage professionals may participate in Mortgage Marketplace and submit quotes.

Zillow does not limit the number of quotes a borrower can receive and offers a standardized quote form to make comparing these quotes — along with each lender’s ratings and feedback — easy. The Mortgage Marketplace quote form requires lenders to disclose all fees upfront then Zillow estimates taxes and insurance and provides an inclusive estimated monthly payment. This makes it easier for borrowers to compare loan quotes on an apples-to-apples basis, note differences and better evaluate overall affordability. The borrower decides which lender(s) they want to contact, if any, maintaining complete control of the process. Only when a borrower contacts a lender will their identity be revealed.

Unlike other lending Web sites, Zillow is not a loan originator and is never part of any transaction. Any loan originated will be closed outside Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. Zillow also does not sell a borrower’s personally identifiable information, which often leads to a barrage of unwanted phone calls and e-mails from multiple lenders vying for the borrower’s business. This is a primary worry of borrowers. More than 80 percent of people who plan to shop for a mortgage or home loan in the future say they have concerns about doing so. In fact, more borrowers say they are concerned about having their personal information sold or shared (58%) than they are about missing the opportunity to get the best rate (55%), according to a recent survey(i) conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Zillow, which the company reported separately today.