Getting Mortgage Leads in Illinois the Easy Way: Lead Providers

In the Chicago metropolitan area, surrounding cities like Rockford, Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, and the rest of the Prairie State, a lot of homebuyers have been waiting for precisely this moment. 

After mortgage rates hit a peak late last year and took a little bump in the spring, they’ve been steadily declining. And now that the Federal Reserve has finally slashed its federal funds rate, a lot of Illinoisans are deciding now is finally the right time to make a move.

As a mortgage lender, broker, or credit union, that’s exciting news. More people should be coming to the closing table and your company stands to capture some of that business. 

To maximize this opportunity, a lot of companies are exploring Illinois mortgage lead providers. Before we talk about a few good options and how they work, though, let’s look at why your Illinois mortgage company might want to explore this option. 

The Illinois mortgage market

Over the last couple of years, things haven’t looked great for Illinois mortgage operations. Between 2021 and 2022, the total dollar amount of funded loans dropped from more than $133 billion to shy of $72 billion. High mortgage rates were a huge part of that dropoff, encouraging both first-time buyers and current homeowners to wait to make their next move.

As rates come down, though, people are coming out of the woodwork. And since Illinois experts are already predicting that rates might not fall much further, many folks have determined now is the time to act. That’s true in cities like Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, and Rockford, as well as small Illinois towns. 

So, how does your lending institution take advantage of the current upswing in potential borrowers? It needs to get its loan products in front of those people. And that means showing up where they’re already looking. 

One notable statistic that all mortgage lenders, brokers, and credit unions operating in Illinois should know: millennials currently make up the largest share of homebuyers. Statewide, this age group accounted for 62.5% of home purchases in 2023. 

In other words, if you want to tap into the largest stream of potential borrowers, focus on the millennial market. And that means focusing your efforts online. 

Illinois mortgage lead providers are a huge help with that. The best opportunities here are companies that run major websites that are already getting tons of website traffic (including millennials), then capturing their contact info and passing it onto lending institutions.

Illinois mortgage lead providers to explore

To get you started with this option to expand your team’s opportunities to close loans, we have a few tried-and-true lead generation options you can look into:

#1: Zillow

Zillow isn’t just a real estate listings website (although it is that — and one with a huge share of the market). It’s also an Illinois mortgage lead generation opportunity. 

The Zillow Group has multiple ways that lending institutions can tap into the website traffic Zillow generates. One option, Zillow Connect, connects (get it?) potential homebuyers early in the buying process with a mortgage lender who can answer their questions. This can be a good option if your loan officers have the bandwidth for longer lead-to-close timelines and like guiding people through their homebuying journey. 

Zillow also features “sponsored lenders” alongside real estate agents on its real estate listings pages. This allows you to promote your loan officers based on the zip codes you serve. As a result, you can turn up leads who are specifically house hunting in your area, whether that’s Aurora, Chicago, Joliet, Naperville, Rockford, or anywhere else in the state. 

#2: Movoto

Movoto provides guidance to help people navigate the real estate market paired with mortgage preapproval services. This makes it easier for people to see their loan options from several different lenders — one of which could be your institution. 

On top of that, Movoto offers a lender search tool that you can get added to. This way, potential borrowers who are looking for a lender who meets specific criteria could pull you up when you’re a fit. 

Additionally, you can get on the Movoto site as a featured lender. 

All told, there are a lot of options available through this Illinois mortgage lead provider. To take a deeper dive into Movoto and how it works, you can watch the webinar we hosted with their Director, Grant Worthen. 

#3: Bankrate

A lot of lenders won’t qualify for this option, but we think it’s worth mentioning because Bankrate offers such high-quality leads. To get started with lead generation through Bankrate, you may need to be licensed in multiple states and originate both purchase and refinance mortgages.

If that does apply to your lending institution, Bankrate is worth a look. We hear from other lenders that the leads that come through this partner are consistently warm and highly engaged. 

Like a lot of other Illinois mortgage lead providers, Bankrate offers rate comparison tables. Getting featured on those can be a great way to get started. 

#4: More Illinois mortgage lead providers

These are a few of the options worth your consideration, but there are plenty of other companies generating Illinois mortgage leads. We have a roundup of a handful more options that might suit your lending operation. 

That guide should tell you more about various Illinois mortgage lead providers and how they work. But you might still be torn between a few options. If you want to talk those out with someone, book some time with us. 

Because we make tools that a lot of lenders use in tandem with lead providers, we’ve worked directly with a lot of these companies. We can tell you about other lenders’ experiences using these options. We’re here for help honing in on the right Illinois mortgage lead provider to use based on your team, your budget, and other factors that are specific to your company.

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