More than half the leads provided by Zillow Group’s Connect mortgage lead program have indicated that they don’t have an agent, meaning they are thinking “mortgage-first.”
Historically, consumers used to reach out first to a real estate agent rather than a loan officer when they were searching for a home. The loan officer had to wait for the home shopper to get excited by the property — and then select the loan officer they wanted to work with.
More and more, that is not how today’s consumer starts their home-shopping journey.
The borrower leads that Connect provides are designed to meet the evolving behavior and changing expectations of today’s consumer.
Key points of Connect:
- More than half of the leads have indicated that they don’t have an agent.
- Leads are primarily first-time home buyers.
With Connect, more than half of the leads that come through the platform have indicated that they have not yet talked to a real estate agent. They are primarily first-time home buyers as well. And you, the loan officer, have a good chance of being their first point of contact in their home-buying journey. This is an invaluable opportunity for you to be well-positioned to control the process.
Several key consumer characteristics of home buyers today make lenders more important than ever in the process. Consumers, particularly millennials, are looking for the lender to be their trusted adviser and advocate when they are planning to buy, and they have a lifetime of transactions ahead.
Additionally, pre-approvals are now common in the buying process: According to the
There are additional aspects to Connect that make it particularly valuable for loan officers. Zillow Group will try to connect consumers with lenders in their local area. In contrast, other sites tend to direct consumers to a national call center — their business model is to make large national banks compete on price.
Zillow Group’s local lender approach means that you can be the first point of contact for the consumer in the loan process, and you don’t automatically have to compete for your pipeline. It allows you to be a trusted adviser to the consumer who can guide them through the process. The consumer won’t be overwhelmed by calls from multiple lenders, though they still have the opportunity to research other mortgage professionals if they wish.
- One and go: Most buyers don’t shop for a lender
The Zillow Group
Being the first point of contact for a consumer in their loan process is important. If you can be their trusted adviser, answer their questions and help them through the process to find the right loan for their situation, they may not need to talk to anyone else.
Find out more:
Build lasting connections by being the first trusted professional to engage with a borrower. Call our team at 877-661-3172 to
Testimonials
Tony Autullo
AnnieMac Home Mortgage | NMLS# 20232
“I’ve tracked the contacts I’ve received from Zillow in terms of how many I’ve spoken to, how many have resulted in pre-approvals and how many ultimately closed, and the numbers are staggering. Dating back to last year, I’ve received 237 leads, have pre-approved 58 and gotten contracts on 17. I’ve closed 11 so far, with two more active in processing. My lead to pre-approval rate is 24%. I’ve never in my 12 years in this industry seen such a success rate. My closing rate is around 5.5%, which is more than 1 out of 20 leads.”
