Opening Bell for the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace

By: Rich Barton, CEO | April 2, 2008

zillow mortgage marketplace

At Zillow we believe in information transparency. We believe informed consumers are empowered consumers. We believe these informed consumers make better customers for real estate professionals. We believe consumers should be able to shop anonymously, so that they are not approached by a salesperson until they ask for assistance. Finally, we believe in open and free marketplaces.

With these beliefs in mind, we are very pleased today to ring the opening bell for Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, extending our leadership position in real estate information and community into a related, but new market for Zillow. One need not look much further than the headlines of the day to understand that mortgage borrowers and lenders are all searching for a better way.

Borrowers have told us via focus groups and surveys that they spend woefully little time shopping for the mortgage they have – 5 hours. About the same amount of time they spent buying their last computer and nearly half the time they spent shopping for their last car. They also tell us that they want their personal contact information to remain private and that they want to see real rates that are accessible to them, not “teaser” rates that don’t reflect reality. They would also like to shop across their options and be able to do an apples-to-apples comparison of loan quotes from multiple lenders in a standard format. Finally, they’d like to be able to understand the reputation of the broker or lender as seen from the perspective of other borrowers, much like they can judge a seller’s reputation on eBay or a hotel’s reputation on TripAdvisor.

Brokers and lenders have told us that they spend too much money and time buying “leads” on the Web. They’ve told us they don’t like calling people at dinnertime any more than borrowers like to be called. They love the idea of free access to an anonymous marketplace of quote requests from borrowers who fit their desired criteria for providing a loan.

Zillow Mortgage Marketplace attempts to connect the demand side (borrowers) and the supply side (brokers and lenders) in a powerful new way that satisfies all of the needs we heard in our research. Will it work? We’ll see, but we sure hope so - and will be listening to your suggestions and feedback to make it better. However, we have cause to be optimistic. Zillow currently has millions of borrowers coming to the site today to look at Zestimates, shop for For Sale and Make Me Move homes, and to participate in lively discussions about real estate and mortgages. So, we think demand for mortgages is there. Importantly, as well, early in Zillow’s life we discovered something that surprised us: 1 out of every 3 individual mortgage brokers and loan officers visit Zillow every month. Last month, more than 125,000 mortgage professionals visited Zillow. Outside of search engines and portals, this likely makes Zillow the largest congregation point for lenders on the Internet. They come to Zillow because of the rich and up-to-date information we have in our database of all homes in the country, including recent sales, comps, current houses for sale, Make Me Move homes, bird’s eye images and Zestimates. So, the demand is already here on Zillow and so is the supply. It is now our challenge to connect these two sides of a marketplace in a friction free way, one that does not currently exist– at least not before today.

So, if you or someone you know is shopping for a mortgage or a HELOC, give our new service a try. If you are a mortgage professional, please sign up to become a confirmed lender (requires a $25 payment to cover the cost of our confirmation process) after which you can respond to quote requests at any time for free. Finally, please give us feedback, as I know we will be evolving Mortgage Marketplace quickly.

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Comments

59 Comments so far

  1. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace launches. What it means to consumers and loan originators. | Mortgage Industry Blog on April 2, 2008 8:49 pm

    [...] From Zillow’s Blog. [...]

  2. Zillow Officially Launches the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace | Personal Insights on Web 2.0, Blogging, and Business on April 2, 2008 8:54 pm

    [...] Tonight, Zillow officially launched the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace! [...]

  3. Zillow.com’s long-awaited mortgage lending service offers anonymous customized loan quotes to consumers, affording loan originators the opportunity to compete transparently for free mortgage leads | BloodhoundBlog: Real estate marketing and technolo on April 2, 2008 9:13 pm

    [...] Todd Carpenter, Rich Barton, John Cook, Drew Meyers, [...]

  4. Irony Of Ironies: The Mechanical Turk Behind The “Zestimate of Mortgages” Turns Out To Be Not An Algorithm … But A Real Live Mortgage Person! | 3 Oceans Real Estate, A Boutique Real Estate Brokerage Serving the San Francisco Bay Area on April 2, 2008 9:37 pm

    [...] Further explanation from Rich Barton, Zillow CEO. [...]

  5. Zillow.com Releases Mortgage Marketplace | The Phoenix Real Estate Guy on April 2, 2008 10:03 pm

    [...] More from Rich Barton, Zillow Founder, Chairman and CEO. [...]

  6. ZMM: Zillow Mortgage Marketplace « Bma’s Tiger Blog on April 2, 2008 10:45 pm

    [...] then me telling you about it, just read Rich’s blog post.  He has a way with [...]

  7. Zillow Mortgage Launches - How do you rate? on April 2, 2008 11:05 pm

    [...] online lead generation. I had a sneak peak at the platform and I’m duly impressed at the way Zillow has put consumers in control of the transaction right from the [...]

  8. Zillow Mortgage: I Wasn’t First, So I Want to Be Last | BloodhoundBlog: Real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgages, lending, investments on April 3, 2008 1:13 am

    [...] Mortgage announced its Mortgage Marketplace today with the ceremony of the opening bell on the NYSE.  I applaud them for bringing transparency and reputation management to an industry that needs [...]

  9. Tony Grego on April 3, 2008 3:50 am

    Thanks for the great tool. I just responded to a request. Very easy tool to use but I do have a few questions. Please let me know how to contact someone for help.

    Thanks again, this will help many homebuyers!

    Tony Grego - Indiana Mortgage Company

  10. Faramir on April 3, 2008 5:53 am

    Actually, I’m still not used to this idea yet. I’m new to mortgage and would still prefer the tried and tested way of approaching real people face to face.

    But I’m stil open to this :)
    Fara - http://www.pickmeuptoday.com

  11. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace | Boston Condo and Luxury Boston Real Estate Blog on April 3, 2008 6:51 am

    [...] more on Zillow Blog  Leave a comment    Comment [...]

  12. agentgenius.com- national real estate opinion column » Blog Archive » Zillow One-Ups Lending Tree With Mortgage Marketplace on April 3, 2008 9:09 am

    [...] Rich Barton, Zillow’s CEO, said the Mortgage Marketplace comes in response to research the company conducted on how borrowers shop (or, to the point, don’t shop) for their home loans: Borrowers have told us via focus groups and surveys that they spend woefully little time shopping for the mortgage they have – 5 hours. About the same amount of time they spent buying their last computer and nearly half the time they spent shopping for their last car. They also tell us that they want their personal contact information to remain private and that they want to see real rates that are accessible to them, not “teaser” rates that don’t reflect reality. [...]

  13. New loan option: Zillow Mortgage Marketplace « Tempe Agent News on April 3, 2008 10:01 am

    [...] More info from Rich Barton, CEO of Zillow. [...]

  14. Zillow launches Mortgage Marketplace at ProBargainHunter.com on April 3, 2008 12:49 pm

    [...] Opening Bell for the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace (via [...]

  15. Zillow launches new mortgage marketplace | money news blog on April 3, 2008 1:02 pm

    [...] Read [...]

  16. Portland Oregon Real Estate Agent Blog » Is a Zil-Loan in Your Future? on April 3, 2008 2:07 pm

    [...] done their homework. From the CEO’s blog post: At Zillow we believe in information transparency. We believe informed consumers are empowered [...]

  17. My first day on the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace | GeekEstate Blog on April 3, 2008 3:31 pm

    [...] around on the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. So excited that when I got on line around 5:00 am and saw the announcement, I felt like it was Christmas morning and I had a new toy to play [...]

  18. Zillow launches new mortgage marketplace : The Tech Reporter on April 3, 2008 7:28 pm

    [...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]

  19. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace: One Way Transparency Like A Bad Online Dating Site | BloodhoundBlog: Real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgages, lending, investments on April 4, 2008 10:08 am

    [...] Mortgage MarketPlace rang the opening bell and loan requests came flying in the door. I was pleasantly flabbergasted! It’s no secret [...]

  20. Clara, Houston TX on April 4, 2008 7:33 pm

    Would it be possible to get leads to certain zip code? I would like to work within my community, instead off all over. If you can please let me know if we can focus on a small area and be exclusive to that area for the leads?
    Please let me know, my email is a great way to communicate.
    Thank you in advance.
    Clara.

  21. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace | EquityLineBlog on April 6, 2008 7:37 am

    [...] A few days ago, they made even bigger waves in the mortgage industry with the announcement of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. Here’s how it works: [...]

  22. Mary Miller on April 6, 2008 12:11 pm

    Clara,

    Yes, you can use the saved search function to help you focus on specific areas. Just go to the How it Works for Lenders page http://www.zillow.com/mortgage/LenderGateway.htm (or just click on the Mortgage tab, then click on ‘Learn more’ under Are you a lender?) and then type in the location you want–city, state or Zip–in the search box in the middle of the page. You will then be shown a list of loan requests in that area. At the top of the Loan Requests page, there is a link that says “Save this search.” Click on that, and you will be asked how often you want to receive emails that will notify you when a request comes in that matches your search.

  23. Zillow Mortgage Gets Negative Reviews (from Non-Adopters) : Lead Marketwatch on April 7, 2008 5:27 am

    [...] has given the best and most detailed overview of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.Zillow listened to borrowers, who were frustrated with their current mortgage “shopping” experience: Borrowers have [...]

  24. Joseph Ferrara.sellsius on April 8, 2008 11:27 am

    This appears to be a lead generation model.

    Aren’t you on record as saying lead-gen is a broken business model that you would not invest in?

    http://tinyurl.com/2n7jhp

  25. Do You Enjoy Your Job? | Personal Insights on Web 2.0, Blogging, and Business on April 15, 2008 9:08 pm

    [...] to work tomorrow?” I’m thinking about “what cool new products we are working on (like Zillow Mortgage Marketplace) and what strategic partners we should be focusing on.” When you enjoy your job, work [...]

  26. Opening Bell for the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace on April 27, 2008 12:15 pm

    [...] Charles E. Kirk wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWith these beliefs in mind, we are very pleased today to ring the opening bell for Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, extending our leadership position in real estate information and community into a related, but new market for Zillow. … [...]

  27. The Mortgage Marketplace by Zillow | Cheap condos are real? on May 3, 2008 6:58 am

    [...] Read more on Zillow Blog  [...]

  28. Marketing Is Religion | BloodhoundBlog: Real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgages, lending, investments on May 13, 2008 11:17 pm

    [...] internet has created an ideas explosion not seen since the days of the industrial revolution. Zillow created a revolutionary marketplace but the believers still look in the newspaper to get their mortgage. The enlightened call out the [...]

  29. texas credit repair on June 9, 2008 11:46 am

    It is the priority of the people behind mortgage assistance companies to give mortgage clients the relief they greatly need when they are facing a foreclosure problem. A lot of people have already been given this opportunity to live comfortably although they are in a “problematic” loan.

  30. Smart Equity on July 10, 2008 5:08 am

    Zillow has been doing some good job as far as blogging is concerned,the credibility of the information is the USP of this blog.

  31. Where’s Barton? on July 16, 2008 1:23 am

    [...] Perhaps Barton was never a war general but merely a paper tiger, meant to be brought on display at opening bells.  Or maybe he thinks he can build a grand brand as an absentee owner, splitting his time with his [...]

  32. malaysia property on September 9, 2008 12:14 am

    having to establish a tag for mortgage marketplace, i read almost some post in your blog. with increasing volume of mortgage professional viewers in here. i think your objective is not far behind.

  33. martman on October 20, 2008 6:34 pm

    fantastic content and a very informative website. I am going to add you to the links section on my website. You can find it at the front page on http://home—refinancing.blogspot.com. Keep up the fine blogging, I know that you will.

  34. Major Milestone for Zillow Mortgage Marketplace | Zillow® Blog on December 11, 2008 2:50 pm

    [...] this week, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace reached a major milestone: Since the service launched in April 2008, more than 100,000 mortgage requests have been submitted by borrowers who are looking for a [...]

  35. Loan Workout on January 1, 2009 11:14 am

    This is great. I truly believe that empowered consumers are powerful consumers. 100% transparancy is imperative to repairing that which is broke.

  36. Loan Modification Attorney on January 3, 2009 8:52 am

    Our nations consumers were taken by “teaser” rates that don’t reflect reality.

    Great job in educating the Zillow!

  37. Home Mortgage Forum on January 3, 2009 8:55 am

    Zillow is using the internet to educate like myself. Outside of search engines and portals, Zillow the largest congregation point for lenders on the Internet and Loan Safe for consumers.

  38. Shop while they drop — mortgage rates, that is | Zillow® Blog on January 12, 2009 5:05 pm

    [...] Mortgage Marketplace always had consumers’ needs in mind during its early development. Instead of lenders contacting consumers, we flipped it so consumers are anonymous and are in [...]

  39. Loan Modification on January 15, 2009 6:15 am

    Indeed this sounds a better service as Zillow will need to maintain their reputation and prove others wrong in this most scam averse mortgage financing market. Best of Luck

  40. Loan Modification Forum on January 20, 2009 5:43 am

    This is great. Outside of search engines and portals, Zillow the largest congregation point for lenders on the Internet. I agree that 100% transparancy is imperative.

  41. Shopping for mortgage rates just got easier | Mortgages Unzipped on January 20, 2009 4:31 pm

    [...] Mortgage Marketplace always had consumers’ needs in mind during its early development. Instead of lenders contacting consumers, we flipped it so consumers are anonymous and are in [...]

  42. Florida Loan Modification on February 4, 2009 3:27 pm

    It’s great to see online real estate take off like this, good luck to all of you in this up and down market.

  43. Loan modification on February 10, 2009 2:23 am

    I really like Zillow and think it is a great resource for getting real estate transactions done. It is a great source and a growing site.

  44. Florida Loan Modification on February 18, 2009 2:27 pm

    For real estate leads, calling people at dinner is something nobody wants to do. What if there was a way to only contact people who were interested in the homes you were selling? Zillow is the perfect answer to that need.

  45. Zillow Launches Mortgage Marketplace | Florida Loan Modification | Loan Modification Help on February 18, 2009 2:33 pm

    [...] a step to help mortgage brokers better connect with clients Zillow launched a new service, Mortgage [...]

  46. Information Transparency: Zillow Launches Mortgage Marketplace | Mortgage Help on February 18, 2009 2:36 pm

    [...] Zillow launched their information transparency marketplace that bridges the gap between lenders and buyers, and made it easier for people to buy homes and for agents to sell homes. [...]

  47. Wise Startup Blog on February 18, 2009 3:03 pm

    For our startup, we’re currently looking to fill these needs for people. Being able to eliminate cold calls, and making everything a “warm call” truly is the goal of the web and I think Zillow is really onto something here.

  48. Missouri Loan Modification on February 18, 2009 3:05 pm

    For those of us in the real estate market, we need all the help we can get with harvesting new clients and develop new technologies to make our business possible.

  49. Mark on February 20, 2009 5:43 pm

    100% Transparency=happy customers, no doubt about it! I like the idea of customers being able to choose what information they do or don’t want to receive. Makes the job easier for both parties involved. Thanks for sharing!

  50. Loan Modification Zoom on May 6, 2009 4:38 pm

    Congratulations! It looks like the marketplace has been a huge success for you guys!

  51. Online marketing tanácsadás on May 29, 2009 8:20 am

    Great job! The bridge between lenders and buyers must be constructed in a conducive way.

  52. Mortgage Loan Modification 101 on June 20, 2009 11:59 am

    It is great that Zillow Mortgage Marketplace attempts to connect borrowers and lenders in a new way that satisfies all needs. Good job!

  53. Épületgépészet on July 6, 2009 10:16 am

    And they are doing it in a great way. It is a tough job to connect lenders and borrowers.

  54. Vagyonvédelem on July 6, 2009 10:18 am

    I know and I can certainly prove that sometimes they just do not find a common ground. For this reason you need professional help to resolve all the hassles.

  55. 100 Mortgage on August 14, 2009 9:29 am

    Looks like a useful concept, well done!

  56. Masszázs tanfolyam on August 16, 2009 5:26 am

    Finding a common ground is not so easy. Zillow marketplace help you a lot though.

  57. First Time Mortgage on October 10, 2009 11:00 am

    I agree with Masszazs on that one.

  58. money&mortgage on October 24, 2009 5:47 am

    Yes I agree with Masszazs too, fair point.

  59. Buy To Let on November 3, 2009 6:18 am

    It certainly does, I agree.

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