Lennar, one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., is now partnering with mortgage technology provider Blend, to power its financing arm.
Lennar will utilize Blend through its financing arm, Eagle Home Mortgage. The partnership will digitally streamline the home purchase process for Lennar and its customers. The new system will allow Lennar mortgages to close up to 10 days faster by cutting out unnecessary manual process.
Blend explained that the resource and cost savings from using its tech to finance a mortgage, “can also make it more worthwhile for builders to focus on entry-level homes, something much needed in a housing market that is in the midst of an affordability crisis and has seen slowing home sales and rising interest rates.”
One expert from Genworth Mortgage Insurance explained that while luxury homes are in abundant supply, homes on the lower end of the market are failing to keep up with demand and seeing quickly increasing prices.
The average mortgage continues to cost around $8,000 for a lender to originate, largely due to a very manual, paper-based process with increased regulation.
“Now that Millennials comprise more than one-third of all home buyers according to the National Association of Realtors, it is more important than ever for lenders to provide a transparent and efficient process with a consumer-grade experience,” said Erin Collard, Blend chief financial officer and co-founder. “Our work with Lennar is helping them provide this type of higher-quality experience today’s buyers demand.”
The San-Francisco startup continues to raise money and increase its partnerships as more lenders begin to innovate their processes. Last year, the company processed nearly $60 billion in mortgages and tripled in size to nearly 300 people.
