Dive Brief:
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Redfin is bringing mortgage lending into its portfolio, a move by the real-estate listing and brokerage businesses to offer customers an all-in-one service for the sale and purchase of homes, according to HousingWire.
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Redfin Mortgage will launch in the Texas markets of Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio in the first half of this year. The company's mortgage options will be listed alongside those of other lenders.
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The move follows a similar one by real estate brokerage Re/Max in October to launch a mortgage brokerage franchise, Motto Mortgage.
Dive Insight:
Online real estate services companies are looking to become more integrated, and they are embracing new technology in a bid to enhance the home search and purchase process.
Earlier this month, real-estate listing website Realtor.com said it was upgrading its Android mobile app with features allowing users to capture data such as price and agent contact information on properties in the field using their smartphones.
This followed a move by rival Zillow to revamp its own real estate app to let users on iOS-based mobile devices share photos and information on available properties using iMessage.
The shift toward technology in the home-buying process is also catching the eye of investors. Opendoor, an online real estate startup that purchases and resells homes, announced late last year that it had raised $210 million in funding as part of its plans to expand the platform nationally in the next two years.
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