Zillow Launches Mortgage Pre-Approval Tool for Home Shoppers

For the first time on desktop and mobile, qualified home shoppers can get a mortgage pre-approval letter in just minutes, gaining an edge over the competition

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Zillow, Inc.

Mar 19, 2014, 11:00 ET

SEATTLE, March 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zillow, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z), the leading real estate marketplace, today announced the launch of Mortgage Pre-Approval on Zillow®, a new tool that enables home shoppers on Zillow to get pre-approved for a mortgage quickly and easily. Zillow is the first and only home shopping resource where consumers can find a reputable lender, who has been rated and reviewed by other borrowers, to issue them a pre-approval letter in as little as a few minutes.

Mortgage Pre-Approval on Zillow is an important tool home buyers can use to gain an edge over the competition when shopping for a home. This is especially important heading in to the home shopping season, as inventory remains tight in many markets across the country. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage demonstrates to real estate agents and sellers that a buyer is motivated, credit-worthy, and able to act fast.

"In today's competitive real estate market, getting pre-approved for a mortgage can mean the difference between getting the home that's right for you, or losing it to some other buyer," said Erin Lantz, senior director of mortgages for Zillow. "Until now, getting pre-approved was a daunting and time-intensive process. Mortgage Pre-Approval on Zillow makes it significantly easier for home shoppers, who can fill out one short online questionnaire, and get a pre-approval letter within minutes."

Zillow has made mortgage pre-approval simple for users, by providing a safe, secure and easy online process. To begin, a borrower completes a short online questionnaire which asks for information including income, credit score, and monthly debt. They receive an estimated pre-approval amount, and can then continue the process by filling in their name, email address, and phone number. A lender is able to review a borrower's inquiry immediately, pull the borrower's credit score at their request, and if the borrower meets the lender's guidelines, send them a pre-approval letter they can email or print.

About Zillow, Inc.
Zillow, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) operates the leading real estate and home-related marketplaces on mobile and the Web, with a complementary portfolio of brands and products that help people find vital information about homes, and connect with the best local professionals. Zillow's brands serve the full life cycle of owning and living in a home: buying, selling, renting, financing, remodeling and more. In addition, Zillow offers a suite of tools and services to help local real estate, mortgage, rental and home improvement professionals manage and market their businesses. Welcoming nearly 70 million unique users in January 2014, the Zillow, Inc. portfolio includes Zillow.com®, Zillow Mobile, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, Zillow Rentals, Zillow Digs™, Postlets®, Diverse Solutions®, Agentfolio®, Mortech®, HotPads™ and StreetEasy®. The company is headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow.com, Zillow, Postlets, Diverse Solutions, Agentfolio, Mortech, and StreetEasy are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc.

HotPads and Zillow Digs are trademarks of Zillow, Inc.

SOURCE Zillow, Inc.