You’ve probably done it yourself. You need something relatively expensive, like a car or TV. Rather than buying the first one you come across, you do some online sleuthing to see if you can score a better deal.

You’re not alone. In fact, 83% of people compare prices on a few websites before buying something online. And if they’re willing to put in that work for an everyday item, you’d better believe they’ll do the same when it comes to something as big and expensive as a mortgage. 

Tapping into consumers’ intent to rate shop

That creates an opportunity for your mortgage lending institution. Since people are likely to shop around for the best mortgage interest rate, you can win their business by showing up and serving up the information they want. 

The trick, though, lies in creating a mortgage website that turns site visitors into leads, and leads into borrowers. If you’ve noticed that you get decent site traffic but you’re not getting many leads for your site, you’re probably losing visitors somewhere along the way.

Zoom out and ask what could be happening. Are your rates notably higher than your competitors’? Is your site poorly designed or slow to load? 

If there’s no big picture issue at play, get more granular. You could be losing leads because you’re missing certain pieces of the rate shopping experience that consumers expect. That might not have been a huge issue even a few years ago. But in an increasingly congested mortgage market, it’s a problem. 

The problem: The mortgage market is crowded

Not so very long ago, banks and credit unions were the primary force behind home loans. Increasingly, though, smaller scale local lenders have carved out their share of the market. And in 2025, a new player is coming into the space, too. 

Online lenders — also called financial technology, or fintech, lenders — eschew brick-and-mortar locations for robust websites and digital applications. Some even carry the process all the way through to e-signings, meaning people can now get a home loan by only interacting in person with a notary. 

In an environment where people want the ability to rate shop and compare their options, online lenders have something of an advantage. Because they focus on their digital presence rather than physical locations, they have resources to direct toward creating a super user-friendly, engaging website. And as an increasing number of fintech lenders deliver sites with features like live rates and instant quotes, consumers come to expect that kind of rate shopping experience. 

This is all changing the market landscape. Traditional banks used to have a mortgage market share of 76%. Today, that’s shrunk to 46%, driven partially by fintech lenders’ growth from 8 to 17%. 

Long story short, there are more players in the game — and more types of players, too. Traditional banks will always hold sway with folks who feel safe in time-tested hands. But for the increasingly large share of borrowers who prefer to do things digitally, fintech lenders might look particularly appealing.

Your lending institution has a choice, then. You can either pick a lane — traditional or digital — and stick with it. Doing that means missing out on the large segment of the market that prefers the other path, though. So, alternatively, you can prioritize building a strong internal team of loan officers while also creating a way to win over those who digitally rate shop. 

Creating a competitive rate shopping experience

Since the in-person side of lending is nothing new, your organization probably has that under control. To stop losing leads in the current overcrowded market, then, focus on your digital offerings. When a potential borrower visits your site, are they getting an experience that feels easy, informative, and tailored to them? 

You can make sure they do by adding a few key features that rate shoppers love. 

Live rate displays

The modern consumer wants what they want, and they want it now. That’s particularly true online, where a near-infinite amount of information is at their fingertips.

When they’re evaluating mortgage lenders, what they want is rate information. They want to know what kind of loan they can get and how much it’s going to cost them. 

Fortunately, it’s easy for you to provide that information. With a live rate table on your site, information about the current market is always available to anyone who visits your site. Your competition is also showcasing this info, so it prevents the lead from leaving to find another source, too. 

Plus, having your own rate table can give you a competitive edge. Other lenders might have rate tables that require manual updating. You can set yours up to connect to your product pricing engine (PPE). This way, it automatically updates with the latest rates. That means no work for your team. And it means you’re always displaying the most current information, setting your company up to look like a tuned-in expert in leads’ eyes.  

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Instant quotes

Leads don’t want to wait around to find out what loan options are available to them. If you’re losing rate shoppers, that delay could be part of it.

Overcome that by providing instant quotes on your website. With a lead workflow, you get the information you need to automatically provide a quote. And with a final step in that workflow that asks for contact information, you get a way to turn a site visitor into a captured lead. 

You can take a further step to turn rate shoppers into loan closers. Offer them a customized rate dashboard, too. This lets the lead price their own loan scenarios. At the same time, it lets your team track that activity so you can use it to your advantage. 

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Automated next steps

Your team can only do so much and act so quickly. To keep rate shoppers continually engaged so you don’t risk losing them, turn to automation. 

With an AI SMS text chatbot, for example, you can get leads near-instant answers to all of their basic questions. Or with rate alert emails, you can keep them continually informed — and continually engaged with your brand. 

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We can make it super easy to turn your website into a mortgage rate shopper’s dream. To explore leveraging our ready-made rate tables, lead workflows, AI SMS solutions, and more, book a demo with us today.