Users of NerdWallet, a website that helps guide consumer decisions with tools, research and advice about credit cards, mortgages, insurance, loans or other expenses, can now get recommendations about choosing a real estate agent, thanks to a new partnership between NerdWallet and OpenHouse.
According to a release from the companies, OpenHouse will now help NerdWallet’s users research and find the “most-qualified” real estate agent for their home purchase or sale.
“Using OpenHouse’s patented, data-driven recommendation service, known as Agent Ace, NerdWallet’s 30-million-plus users can now easily connect to a top performing real estate agent to represent them,” the companies said.
OpenHouse is a real estate lifestyle search company that combines property search, data-driven real estate agent recommendations, and in-depth neighborhood and community information that formed when Agent Ace, a data-driven real estate agent recommendation service, purchased fypio, a real estate company that provides homebuyers with a personalized, lifestyle-driven search experience.
According to information provided by OpenHouse, the company “unlocks” industry data on agent performance to determine which agent would be the “most qualified” to help a consumer purchase or sell a home, based on criteria including location, price and home type.
In a release, OpenHouse said that the recommendation is “always objective and unbiased,” making it “superior” to traditional word-of-mouth recommendations or agent advertisements.
According to OpenHouse, there are multiple benefits to its service and agreement with NerdWallet, which is free for consumers and a source of “high-quality” clients for agents.
“NerdWallet’s tools, research and expert advice around all of life’s financial decisions empower consumers to take control of their choices,” the companies said. “Whether a first-time homebuyer or simply looking for mortgage advice, NerdWallet helps consumers calculate how much they should spend on a home, determine what kind of home loan is best for them, and find the most competitive mortgage rate.”
In addition to OpenHouse providing real estate recommendations to NerdWallet users, NerdWallet will provide its “Home Affordability Calculator” and financial advice to OpenHouse’s sites and app.
Under the terms of the agreement, OpenHouse customers will be able to calculate how much money they can spend on a home by entering key financial data such as annual household income, total debt, expenses and desired savings.
With NerdWallet’s tool, users can identify a realistic target home price that takes their other financial obligations and goals into consideration, the companies said.
“Buying or selling a home is easily one of the largest – and most stressful – financial transactions Americans make in their life,” said Jason Nierman, head of business development at OpenHouse.
“OpenHouse eases the process by taking complex data that has traditionally been difficult to access and using it to make informed real estate agent recommendations,” Nierman said. “Our mission is echoed by NerdWallet, and we’re thrilled to bring our service onto their site.”
According to Chris Ling, mortgage manager at NerdWallet, navigating the real estate landscape can be a “nightmare” without sufficient information, a problem that is remedied by this agreement.
“At NerdWallet, we’re here to guide consumers through this process,” Ling said.
“From finding the right mortgage loan to helping consumers determine how much they spend on a house to finding a broker, we want to equip consumers with the best options,” Ling continued. “We’re excited to partner with OpenHouse – now, our users can find a great real estate agent without ever leaving our site, and OpenHouse’s users have new tools to help them in their home buying journey.”
