Inman

Zillow rolls out iPhone app for mortgage shopping

Property search and valuation site Zillow has launched a mobile version of its loan comparison tool, available for Apple’s iPhone, the company announced today.

The Zillow Mortgage Marketplace app allows users to receive customized loan quotes without the need to reveal personally identifiable information. The app also includes calculators for affordability, payments and refinancing.

"Now, whether home shoppers are standing in the living room of their dream home for sale, or getting ready to make an offer, the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace app allows them to receive instant, personalized loan quotes from lenders, as well as gauge home affordability and monthly payments on the spot," the company said.

Users of the marketplace received an average of 25 loan quotes per request in March, the company said. Users also have the option to look through about 8,900 lender reviews submitted by consumers. After comparing lenders, users can call a lender with one touch, directly from the app. The app also saves users’ search history.

Consumers using the online Zillow Mortgage Marketplace to request loan quotes submitted nearly 1 million mortgage loan requests during the quarter that ended March 31, 2011, the company said in a regulatory filing it submitted in April in preparation for an initial public offering.

According to the filing, Zillow’s "marketplace revenues" — which include its Premier Agent program and revenue collected from mortgage lenders that participate in the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace — were up 238 percent in 2010 compared to 2009. Marketplace revenues totaled $13.2 million in 2010, or 43 percent of the company’s total revenue, up from 22 percent in 2009.

Zillow Mortgage Marketplace partnered with Closing.com about a year ago to include Closing.com’s closing-cost estimates in loan quotes provided to borrowers.