Zillow mortage-shopping tool powers Google

Zillow is helping power a new mortgage-shopping tool launched by Google, offering lenders who advertise on Zillow the opportunity to have their mortgage rates, ratings and reviews appear prominently in a tool provided to consumers on Google search results pages.

“Together, Zillow Group and Google are empowering people to make the best possible decisions when purchasing a home, while simultaneously creating a powerful marketing opportunity for participating lenders,” said Zillow spokeswoman Amanda Woolley in a statement.

The tool is currently active in California, “with more states to follow,” said Google in a short blog post.

Lenders must agree to pay referral fees to Google for leads generated by the tool in order to appear in it, but “payment isn’t a favor in ranking or eligibility,” Google said.

Asked if Google would split these referral fees with Zillow, a Google spokesman said “we’re not sharing that level of detail now.”

Asked whether lenders would have to pay referral fees for leads generated by Google’s mortgage-shopping tool to either Google, Zillow or both, Woolley said participating lenders will only pay referral fees to Zillow, “within the pricing engine already established for all Zillow Group leads.

“Initially, leads from Google will be priced at a promotional level during the launch period,” she said.

“Google Compare for Mortgages” was created to give consumers an easy way to understand and compare financial products online. Google has worked with a “number of providers to provide a diversity of relevant results and purchasing options to users,” Zillow said in a statement. Other providers that help power Google Compare for Mortgage appear to include LendingTree.

Mobile pages for Google’s new mortgage comparison tool.

Consumers searching for mortgage-related terms are invited in Google search results pages to visit the Google Compare Mortgages page, LendingTree said in a statement announcing that it had joined Google Compare for Mortgages.

After users provide some information, such as loan amount and home value, they will see relevant mortgage rates from lending partners, LendingTree said.

“Zillow Group and Google share the same vision to first and foremost empower consumers with comprehensive access to valuable information that helps them make confident, more informed financial decisions,” said Erin Lantz, Zillow Group vice president of mortgages, in a statement.

Prospective borrowers who search for custom mortgage rates using Google Compare will have “seamless access” to Zillow’s lender rates, reviews and ratings on desktop and mobile devices, according to Lantz. The deal will give Zillow Group’s lenders “increased reach for their businesses,” he said.

A Google Compare screenshot with a Zillow agent review.

The collaboration between the leading real estate portal and search engine will let borrowers browse more than 200,000 local and national lender reviews published on Zillow and connect with lenders that meet their needs, Zillow said.

Email Teke Wiggin.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from Zillow.