Now in their mid-30s, Amanda and Steve are ready to make the biggest investment of their lives. Both are on an upward trajectory at work. They expect their family to grow soon and so there’s a lot going into their decision to pour nearly 40% of their family’s income into a new home over the next 20-30 years.
Before they make that decisions to purchase and ultimately move into their home, however, they must run a gauntlet of weighty decisions along their home buying journey.
If you have ever purchased a home, you know the drill. You’re faced with an overwhelming series of transactions, all happening amidst a swirl of chaos. And when you finally cross the threshold of your new residence, you will likely have committed to 20-30 years of payments on a home you have limited knowledge about: Did the previous owner keep up with the furnace maintenance, and who did they use? Is it normal that the backyard floods in the spring? And just how old is that roof anyway?
For decades, the industry has been slow to adopt new technology so change has been relatively insubstantial in the home buying and mortgage marketplace. We still run this gauntlet of chores. We still have the same unanswered questions. And we still have the same mortgage options. But digital mortgages are about to change all that.
Look at all the steps in the home-buying journey. What if everything from finding the home to turning on utilities was part of a fully integrated ecosystem operating primarily from your couch?
In fact, part of the process has already begun. Companies like Zillow are digitizing the home search process and using data to hone your options. Instead of you and your real estate agent finding homes, the homes find you. You are in the center of the process.
By 2030, 80% of digital laggards in the financial industry will go out of business.
Gartner press release, October 2018
Now, imagine that model expanding. The right home finds you. Your inspection reveals a complete accounting of your home’s history, including appliances and equipment. You are presented with options for title and insurance companies. Moving and repairs companies bid out to you. And the utilities are fully operational on move-in day. The entire home buying ecosystem lays itself out at your feet, instead of you having to do all the legwork yourself. That’s just a taste of what digital mortgages can accomplish.
If you’re part of the home buying ecosystem, the upcoming shifts will cause significant changes throughout your organization. Celerity can help you get ahead of the curve up and claim as much of the market share of this new paradigm as possible.
Understanding these imminent changes is the first step to positioning your company for success. This is the first of three posts on this emerging topic. In Part 2, I’ll take a look at some of the market conditions driving this change and how you can manage them to your benefit. And in Part 3 I’ll discuss some of the changes that may be in store for homebuyers, plus I’ll give my best guess at where the next big player is going to come from.