Texas Mortgage Lead Providers: Finding the Best

With the first Federal Reserve rate cut in a long while, a lot of mortgage lending institutions are looking to maximize the opportunity in front of them. Specifically, they want to gather up and close as many leads as possible as rates come down.

As a mortgage lender in Texas, you’re probably taking some internal steps, like publishing the latest rates on your website or supporting your loan officers with additional training and resources. But getting more mortgage leads doesn’t have to mean doing more work.

In fact, there are a number of sources you can look to that will generate leads for you in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth or anywhere else in the state. That said, they’re not all created equal. To help you find the right Texas mortgage lead provider(s) for your specific lending institution, it helps to understand your options — and the competition you’re up against. 

The state of Texas mortgage lending

California may have Texas beat in terms of overall population, but more households own here than in the Golden State. 62.5% of households in Texas own their homes. And that means young potential borrowers are more likely to be motivated to get the keys to their own home. Plus, as rates ideally continue coming down in the near future, current homeowners who’ve been wanting to move may finally take action.

All told, Texas mortgage lenders should have plenty of business to tap into in the coming months. In fact, per the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M, the market’s already on an upswing. In July, the last month for which the Center has published data, total home sales were up 15.4% month over month. 

That does mean the potential for more business for mortgage lenders, but they need to edge out the competition to secure it. The Texas Department of Savings and Lending says it regulates more than 4,200 mortgage-related entities. 

Fortunately, there are only a couple of major players in the game. Per Mortgage News Daily, Pennymac Home Loans originates north of 5% of loans across the state, followed by US Bank, with 1.5% of loans. Other than that, though, no originator has a slice of the pie that’s bigger than 1%. That means there’s plenty of room to maneuver. You just might need to be strategic about how you do it.

That’s where tapping into Texas mortgage lead providers comes in. Using these resources to get leads to your loan officers can help them close more loans faster. 

The top Texas mortgage lead providers

There are countless companies out there that will offer to sell you lead lists. Some of them have value, sure. But others are more than happy to take your money in exchange for the contact info of folks who will block your calls and unsubscribe from your emails.

The trick is to find lead providers that can give you high-intent contacts. You want leads that are actually interested in getting a loan. For that, we recommend exploring the following Texas mortgage lead providers. 

#1: Zillow

Per the Zillow Group team, the company’s website captures two-thirds of the total market share for the online real estate category in the U.S. In other words, when someone is thinking about buying a house, there’s a two-in-three shot they’re going to end up on Zillow.com.

The Zillow Group knows just how valuable that is, so they monetize it by capturing and distributing leads to Texas mortgage lenders. 

With Zillow’s Custom Quote option, your company can advertise its rates on Zillow’s site, then provide a custom quote (hence the name) to any potential borrower who wants that personalized information. 

Zillow also offers what it calls Connect. This option connects home shoppers to mortgage lenders who can answer their questions. These leads are generally early in their purchasing journey, which means they may take a bit of work for your loan officers. But because they’re in the early stages, your team has the chance to guide them — ideally toward a loan you originate. 

#2: NerdWallet

NerdWallet doesn’t feature real estate listings, but it does offer a wide range of personal finance advice. As a result, when people are exploring their homebuying options — whether they’re in a metropolitan area like Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, or Fort Worth or they’re in one of Texas’s quintessential small towns — they might wind up on the company’s website.

NerdWallet features educational articles that teach folks about things like the different types of mortgage loans and how much house they can afford. But the company doesn’t stop there. It also showcases Texas mortgage lenders (along with lenders in other states) and their current rates. 

By advertising with NerdWallet, you get the chance to be on one of their rate tables. And if an interested person clicks on your company, NerdWallet hands that lead over to you. 

With 29 million users each month, NerdWallet gets a lot of eyes — and that gives you the potential to lure those eyes to your company. As a result, it’s a Texas mortgage lead provider well worth the look. 

#3: Other options

These are just a couple of ideas to get your wheels turning. We’ve outlined even more choices that can deliver quality leads to Texas mortgage lenders. 

At the end of the day, you have options. The hardest part might be choosing which is best for your lending institution. Because that depends on your loan officers and their bandwidth, your advertising budget, and your loan offerings, the answer is specific to you. 

That doesn’t mean you have to figure it out on your own, though. Our team has extensive experience helping mortgage lenders, brokers, and credit unions hone in on the best Texas mortgage lead provider for their specific needs. 

If you want to talk with our experts about which might be the best fit for your specific company, book some time with us. Not only can we help you explore your options, but we can help you streamline how the leads fit with your CRM and your website.