The verdict is in: There's never been a better time to buy a home. In honor of the debut of the more comprehensive second version of its award-winning Web site, QuickenMortgage is offering a $225 rebate on closing costs to its online mortgage and refinancing applicants. The rebate will be available through this summer to all consumers who close the loan for which they applied online via QuickenMortgage. There is no stipulation on the variety or amount of mortgage for which consumers apply; the rebate is available to all consumers who apply online.

The new-and-improved version of QuickenMortgage includes an online mortgage application, five new lenders, and direct access to more than 500,000 home listings in the United States. Users have access to competitively priced mortgages offered by 11 of the country's leading lenders, including Allied Money, American Finance, Chase, Countrywide, HomeSide, LaSalle, LoanWorks, North American, PNC Mortgage, Principal Residential, and Wells Resource.

"QuickenMortgage is the gateway for home buyers on the Internet because they can shop for a home and mortgage anytime, anywhere," says Alison Berkley, Intuit's senior product manager. "And after they compare the various rates and costs from thousands of loans that fit their needs, consumers will now be able to reward themselves with this savings." Consumers seeking to refinance may also receive the $225 rebate after using the online loan application. "Consumers do more of the work by selecting their own lender on the site," Berkley adds. "There's less work for the broker and lender, and the savings are passed along to the consumer."

The first online version of QuickenMortgage made its debut in November 1997 and since then has grown to receive an average of between 400,000 and 500,000 visitors each month on its site, far more than the company ever expected so early in the game, Berkley says. An average of 2,000 consumers actually submit information to lenders through the site every month. Since the rebate has been effective less than a week, there's no word yet on whether QuickenMortgage has experienced an increase in traffic -- or how much -- although Berkley is optimistic.

While home pricing is stable in many regions due to low interest rates and high demand for homes, other areas -- most notably here-today, gone-tomorrow markets in California and the Northeast -- continue to enjoy increases. Approximately 4.21 million previously owned homes changed hands in 1997, making the year the best on record since 1968 in terms of home sales. 1998 is continuing the trend, according to the National Association of Realtors. For repeat home buyers, the national median home price rose 4.7 percent last year to $178,700.

In addition, QuickenMortgage recently introduced on its Web site four new educational centers that teach consumers about the entire home purchase and financing cycle. The Home & Mortgage Center features articles from industry expert Ilyce Glink and real estate news service Inman news, including Glink's Step-by-Step Guide to Home Ownership The center also includes daily market commentary and detailed mortgage news from Mortgage Market Information Services. The HomeSearch Center provides access to more than 500,000 home listings provided by Moore Data's Cyberhomes. The Credit Center helps consumers find out how their credit affects the loan process, where to go for help, and provides access to order credit reports online. And the Refinance Center educates the consumer about what to consider in deciding whether to refinance and points consumers to the best tools and articles the Web has to offer.

Since its launch last November, a total of more than 1.2 million consumers have visited QuickenMortgage. Intuit's recently announced partnership with America Online and existing relationships with Excite and CNNfn gives QuickenMortgage the potential to reach more than 10 million new consumers. QuickenMortgage rounds out Intuit's Web offerings that include personal finance, tax and insurance tools, advice, and resources.

Published: April 13, 1998

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