Zillow to offer a 1% down payment loan program
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Zillow Home Loans is now offering 1% down payments to buyers facing affordability challenges.

Through the program, an eligible buyer pays as little as 1% toward a down payment. Zillow Home Loans pays an additional 2%, bringing the total down payment to 3%, which is typically the minimum payment required for a conventional home loan. Alternatively, buyers can put down 3% with Zillow’s 2% bringing the total down payment to 5%.

The 2% is paid through closing costs and not as a payment to the borrower. Currently the program is only available to buyers in Arizona, according to Zillow, with plans to expand.

Buying a home is more expensive than it has been in nearly 40 years. Since mortgage rates crossed over 7% in recent weeks and home prices rose, home sales have plummeted. As mortgage rates climb, people with ultra-low interest rates are not willing to sell because inventory remains stubbornly low.

This has adversely affected the mortgage industry. Mortgage applications last week fell to a 28-year low, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

There has been no escape for Zillow. According to the company’s earnings report for the second quarter, its mortgage business generated $24 million in revenue, down 17% from the year before.

In the second quarter, Zillow’s mobile apps and websites saw 2.7 billion visits, down 8% from a year earlier.

With the low down payment program, Zillow is returning to its core business after a short-lived expansion into buying. The loans are part of an effort to grow revenue streams beyond the home listings it is known best for and become what Rich Barton, co-founder and CEO, has called an all-in-one “housing super app.”