Move Inc. has signed an agreement with Bankrate Inc. to push mortgage resources out to its large online audience, including a directory of mortgage brokers and updated mortgage and home equity rate data.
Move will feature the information within the Home Finance section of its Move.com Web site. Move also operates home-search and marketing site Realtor.com through a contract with the National Association of Realtors trade group.
Last month, property-search site Homescape announced a similar deal through which that site will feature mortgage information supplied by Bankrate. Homescape’s parent company, Classified Ventures, is a joint venture owned by newspaper publishers Belo Corp., Gannett Co. Inc., The McClatchy Co., Tribune Co. and The Washington Post Co. Classified Ventures also owns Apartments.com, Cars.com and HomeGain.
Bankrate gathers information on interest rates and fees on mortgages, credit cards, new and used automobile loans, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees from about 4,800 financial institutions across the country.
The company’s Bankrate.com site drew about 53 million unique visitors in 2006. The company, which went public in May 2006, also owns and operates Interest.com and Mortgage-calc.com.
“Our rate tables are designed to give consumers the ability to compare mortgage products, interest rates and fees, so they can find the ideal loan to meet their particular needs,” said Thomas R. Evans, Bankrate president and CEO.
The Bankrate agreement allows Move.com users to enter their location, loan amount and the points they wish to pay to view a list of lenders providing mortgages in their area. Bankrate will also post how-to advice and articles on the Move Web site, with topics ranging from home equity loans to what lenders look for in creditworthiness.
