TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1491913
6 | M R EP O RT Favorites Lists, home searchers can bring some much-needed organization to their search and group their favorites in any way they like—whether that's rental apartments in the city or homes with amazing kitchens. "It's common for buyers to search for homes in different neighborhoods, or to consider renting in a new place before they decide if they want to buy there," Redfin Phoenix Agent Kelly Khalil said. "Everyone's journey is different, so having the ability to organize your favorite homes according to your own goals or preferences makes the process easier. And since most people search for homes with a loved one, it just makes sense that you can seamlessly share those lists with a search partner." Renters can also organize their search with Favorites Lists and share homes with a roommate or partner. For those deciding between buying or renting, the feature makes it easy to collect candidates and decide how to move forward. "We're excited about this feature because it works for anyone who uses Redfin to search for a home," said Ariel Dos Santos, Redfin's VP of Product. "It's just as useful for a renter keeping track of apart- ments in different neighborhoods as it is for someone looking to buy their first home or an interior designer browsing the latest home trends. Our goal was to give users the flexibility they need to stay organized and to encourage people to have fun with it." When someone logs into their Redfin account and favorites a home, the feature prompts them to create a list for the home or add it to an existing list. House- hunters can create up to 100 lists and may edit or delete any list they have created, making the experience fully customizable. People who are searching for a home or an apartment with someone else can designate a Redfin search partner, which instantly shares their lists and invites the search partner to collaborate through list edits and comments on homes designated as "Favorites." Implementing Time- Cutting Measures KEYBANK LEVERAGES BLEND FOR DIGITAL APP PROCESSES K eyBank has utilized a software platform provided by Blend to digitize the end-to-end mortgage application process for clients looking to purchase or refinance a home—helping KeyBank close home loans 17 days faster, on av- erage, than before the platform was integrated. The digital en- hancement of Blend has resulted in faster application processes. "The ability to offer streamlined solutions that enable our loan of- ficers and their teams to be more efficient in providing excellent customer service is critical in this environment," said Dale Baker, President of Home Lending for KeyBank. "Blend's mission to bring simplicity is paying off for our teammates who are having a streamlined experience, as it's also bringing greater transparency to our clients to be instantly in touch with where their closing stands and obtaining it quicker than we've ever been able to." So far, 83% of KeyBank clients who start a mortgage application through Blend complete it. The average time for a client to com- plete a mortgage application is 29 minutes and more than one-third are completed through a mobile device or tablet. Nearly half of all client interaction through Blend is done at the client's conve- nience outside of normal business hours. Among 300,000 document requests, more than half are pro- vided within two hours through Blend's system. Blend's platform allows KeyBank clients to easily upload documents online, review and sign their disclosures electronical- ly, and receive automatic remind- ers for any missing information during the mortgage application process. A recent KeyBank client in Cleveland applied through Blend and was able to open the door to their new home in time to be ready for Thanksgiving. This client, a first-time homebuyer, submitted an application for a new loan on October 19, and had their loan fully approved by November 9, just in time for the holiday as they had hoped. "Blend's goal is to personalize a consumer's homeownership journey with options that meet their individual needs," said Nima Ghamsari, Co-Founder and Head of Blend. "Our collaboration with KeyBank furthers our efforts to provide better lending for all, and we're excited to provide technol- ogy that will help current and future homeowners stay ahead of changes in today's market." AI in the Home Search Process ZILLOW LAUNCHES AI- POWERED NATURAL- LANGUAGE SEARCH Z illow has launched a new AI-powered feature that lets shoppers search for homes in the same way they would talk to their friends and family. Now home shoppers can enter phrases like "$700K homes in Charlotte with a backyard" or "open house near me with four bedrooms" directly into the Zillow search bar, rather than starting with a location and having to filter their way to the homes they want. They can also save their searches and have Zillow notify them when new qualifying listings come online. The "natural language search" feature is now live on the Zillow app for iOS users and is com- ing soon to Android devices and Zillow.com. "Beyond easy-to-filter criteria like bedrooms and bathrooms, buyers are considering many other specific features that match their unique lifestyle," said Jenny Arden, Zillow's Chief Design Officer. "This new tool is a game changer for home shop- ping, because it helps shorten the sometimes long and stressful house-hunting process by creating an easy, more modern way to search, and it delivers relevant search results in a simple, unclut- tered way." MTECH "The ability to offer streamlined solutions that enable our loan officers and their teams to be more efficient in providing excellent customer service is critical in this environment." —Dale Baker, President of Home Lending, KeyBank