Zillow acquires Mortgage Lenders of America
Steve Randall
REP
Zillow’s expansion across the residential real estate market has taken another turn as it plans to enter the mortgage industry.
The group has announced that it will acquire Mortgage Lenders of America, a US national lender, which will enable it to provide home financing options for customers of its Zillow Offers unit which buys homes from eligible sellers.
“Now that we are buying and selling homes through Zillow Offers, we believe that having our own mortgage origination service as an option for consumers will allow us to streamline the process for people who buy a Zillow-owned home,” said Greg Schwartz, president of media and marketplaces at Zillow Group.”
Business as usual Mortgage Lenders of America is based in Kansas with around 300 employees who are expected to remain with the company when it transfers to Zillow’s ownership.
The current president Philip Kneibert will remain as leader of the business as general manager and the mortgage operation will continue to operate from its existing base.
Zillow says that the firm will not be exclusively offering home loans to Zillow customers, it will continue its existing business and will remain on Zillow advertising partners along with many other independent mortgage lenders.
However, expansion is planned.
“Over time, we expect the work we do in conjunction with this new line of business will help us expand our offerings to our partners – including real estate brokers with existing in-house mortgage operations and third-party lenders who co-market with Premier Agents,” added Schwartz.
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