Movoto acquired by mortgage lender Lower
The home search site has been “battling giants” for years, Movoto’s president says. This will give it a boost — and consumers a better end-to-end experience.
In a move that echoes the recent acquisition of Redfin by Rocket, fast-growing mortgage lender Lower is buying Movoto, a top-five home search site.
Movoto President Chris Heller acknowledged the similarities, telling Real Estate News "this is bridging real estate and mortgage" by "bringing consumers at top of funnel, connecting them with the service professionals that can help them in the whole transaction" and giving them a great experience.
Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
What to know about Lower: Lower, founded in 2014, operates a digital lending platform as well as a network of local branches across the United States. CEO and Co-founder Dan Snyder said this move "strengthens our position as a challenger platform."
"The future of our industry lies in blending the best technology with the irreplaceable expertise of local agents and loan officers," Snyder said in a statement. "Movoto is the perfect platform to accelerate this vision, allowing us to create a simpler, smarter path to homeownership."
Lower President Adam Wiener, a Redfin veteran from its startup days, said integrating Lower's lending strength with the Movoto experience "will lead to an end-to-end ecosystem that creates clients for life."
More about Movoto: Movoto has been "battling giants" for a long time, Heller said, holding on to significant market share — more than 150 million visits last year — in a competitive space dominated by Zillow and shaken by battles between Realtor.com and Homes.com, as well as Rocket's acquisition of Redfin.
Last year, Movoto's parent company OJO acquired The LEAD Syndicate, rebranding it as Lever by Movoto and rebranding the entire operation under the Movoto name.
Heller said Lower "values real estate agents and teams at the same level we do."
What this means: "We're going to continue to operate Movoto.com and build our partnerships with real estate teams and agents and then connect them with the Lower mortgage professionals and branches around the country," Heller said. He and Movoto CEO John Berkowitz will stay on in leadership roles with Lower, with Berkowitz as president of real estate and Heller as chief growth officer of real estate.
Movoto.com will still be Movoto.com, Heller said, but "you'll start to see a lot of Lower branding" and "a more seamless experience."
The unified company will have more than 1,000 employees and offices in Columbus, Ohio, and Austin, Texas.