SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — CU Realty Services reported Credit Union 1 (CU1) in Rantoul, Ill. is celebrating one year of mortgage growth after initiating the CUSO’s HomeAdvantage program from CU Realty Services. With more than 87,000 members, the credit union not only nearly doubled the closings goal set for the program but also achieved a blockbuster 93% pull-through rate on loan applicants who used HomeAdvantage agents to buy their home, according to CU Realty Services.
“We wanted a marketing and technology solution offering a built-in roadmap to help us meet our mortgage growth goals,” said Daniel McLean, VP of Real Estate Operations at Credit Union 1. “We needed a solution that would help us align with a network of real estate agents, and really empower our employees to be part of the process. HomeAdvantage checked all the boxes.”
According to CU Realty Services, HomeAdvantage is a turnkey real estate marketing platform designed to help credit unions attract and engage more home-buying members much earlier in their journey to homeownership, and ultimately close more loans. The program offers a co-branded home search portal, localized reports on home values and market trends, and a network of certified real estate agents. When members use one of those agents to buy or sell, they can earn HomeAdvantage Cash Rewards, which saves members an average of $1,500 per transaction, the CUSO said.
The CUSO reported CU1’s initial goal was to close 25 mortgages through HomeAdvantage in the first year—and the credit union achieved 42 closings in that time, surpassing its goal by 68%.
The CUSO said prior to HomeAdvantage, CU1 lacked significant relationships with local real estate agents. The credit union sought to stop members from going to other financial institutions for their mortgages and knew that having strong relationships with local agents was the key.
“We were not sure how to approach agents and interest them in doing business with a credit union, when they likely wanted to work with their own preferred lenders,” said McLean. “The fact that we were automatically connected to agents through CU Realty’s HomeAdvantage program allowed us to initiate contact with agents who welcomed the collaboration, were advocates of credit unions in general, and embraced our philosophies.”
Before implementing the HomeAdvantage program, and without having solid agent connections in place, CU1’s pull-through rate was averaging 32%, according to CU Realty Services, Today, when CU1 connects one of its members to a certified agent in the HomeAdvantage program, the member stays with the credit union for financing 93 percent of the time. This success is a testament to the strength of the relationships CU1 is nurturing with its network of HomeAdvantage agents, who are trained to keep the credit union brand front-of-mind for financing throughout the members home-buying journey.