A Wal-Mart Mortgage?

Written By: Miller and Associates Realty On: 15th December 2012 Under: Buyers, Economy, Real Estate News

I still remember when Wal-Mart made the push in to groceries and started referring to itself as “Super Wal-Mart”.  It seemed odd, but these days I find myself surprised if there is anything they DON”T have.  That being said, it caught me off guard that there is a possibility the retail giant could enter in to the lending business.  Would shoppers really purchase a home from the same place they buy their milk and eggs?  It isn’t as strange as it seems and, in fact, Wal-Mart wouldn’t even be the first such retailer to do so.  Wal-Mart competitor Costco already offers home loans, through cooperating lenders, and other non bank companies such as Quicken Loans and Nationstar have successfully moved in to the gap left by more hesitant banks.  In fact, Sam’s Club, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart, already offers small business loans.  In a recent survey conducted by Carlisle and Gallagher Consulting Group, over thirty percent of those polled said they would consider securing a home loan through Wal-Mart and over half said they would consider online giant PayPal.  It seems as though consumers trust the stability of massive companies like Wal-Mart more than even their own banks, which isn’t surprising considering recent events.  They also expect to save on rates and fees and there is a perception that they would receive superior customer service, better communication, and a faster processing time – the top complaints from home shoppers were all related to those three issues.  It isn’t all gloom and doom for traditional banks, however, because even though a large percentage stated they would consider a loan through an alternative lender, the majority still said they would prefer to use their bank if possible.  Still, those banks may have to change the way they operate as more and larger entities start competing for those home buyers.