Mortgage quotes from Zillow, foreclosures from Redfin
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A quick update on Zillow’s entry earlier this month into the mortgage business, as a go-between linking would-be borrowers to would-be lenders. Zillow marketing guru Spencer Rascoff writes into the blog to report: ‘Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is off to a great start. There have already been almost 20,000 loan requests submitted by borrowers and over 56,000 loan quotes submitted by lenders. ... Over 4,700 of those loan requests have been in California and over 2,300 in L.A. ... Overall, we’re thrilled with the results so far. Borrowers are benefiting from the anonymity with which they can submit loan requests, and lenders are loving the free leads.’
Relatedly: Redfin, the online, discount brokerage, relaunches its site Wednesday with what it claims is a first: free listings of foreclosed houses. From Redfin’s press release: ‘Many foreclosed properties can be bought directly from the bank prior to their being listed by a broker in the MLS, but buyers can only see them on most websites if and when the bank hires a broker. Redfin users can see the foreclosed properties as soon as the bank takes possession, usually after an auction fails to attract a buyer willing to pay the amount owed on the mortgage.’
More: ‘The foreclosed properties are an especially valuable asset, because Redfin is now the only major site to offer actionable foreclosure data free of charge. Other sites show foreclosures but then ask the user to pay to see their addresses; often these listings are marketed as foreclosures when in fact they are in pre-foreclosure, where the owner has received a notice of default but is still able to avert foreclosure. Redfin shows the bank-owned (also known as Real Estate Owned or REO) foreclosure properties that are actually for sale, including their full address and bank contact details. Redfin does not show foreclosure properties scheduled to be sold at auction.’
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