by Paul McBeth
Hunting for a home loan takes a new twist this week, as E-LOAN rolls out its online loan service for New Zealand borrowers.
Bruce Gordon, chief executive of E-LOAN New Zealand, says that launch date is Thursday for the free service. Borrowers can use the site as a kind of virtual mortgage broker, where they can compare mortgage products and then go right through the loan application and settlement process. The online service will be supported by loan consultants via phone and email, while loan applications will be transmitted on the Internet using 128-bit encryption.
Gordon says that 19 mortgage lenders have agreements with E-LOAN to sell through the service when it launches. That includes the four largest banks as well as a range of emerging banks and specialist home lending companies.
He claims that those lenders combined represent about nine out of every ten dollars currently borrowed for residential loans.
"The response has been outstanding from them all. I think that they really believe in the comparative service we're offering the market," Gordon says.
"Relative to New Zealand, it's a unique service and we believe we're effectively forging the territory for comparative shopping for financial services online."
E-LOAN says the New Zealand home loan market is estimated at around $60 billion, with some $15 billion in loan turnover each year (ie people refinancing with another lender). While the company has kicked off its business here with home loans, it also plans to add other financial services over the next six to 12 months such as personal loans, car loans and credit card applications.
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