By Matt Joy, Princeton Mortgage Wholesale
In March we heard reports that Amazon is quietly looking to hire the head of their new mortgage division… like the search for their HQ2 we (the people) are in the dark about how that will play out. It’s honestly like Willie Wonka and the Chocolate factory up there in Seattle. Everything is a secret. It seems that everyone is just waiting on that golden ticket. Their office is its own self-sustaining ecosystem and I BET you they have a chocolate river! Also… has anyone ever met someone that worked for Amazon?! I haven’t. Are we sure that Jeff didn’t make the same trip to Loompaland that Mr. Wonka did? These are the questions we need to start asking people!
All jokes aside though… Amazon is making another strong push into the housing industry but this time they actually told us what they are going to do. On Wednesday, they announced a new partnership with Lennar (the nation's largest home builder) to provide what they’re calling “Amazon Experience Centers”. Really, it’s just model homes that include all of Amazon’s smart home products. Alexa is essentially moving all of her stuff into your house… you can have her turn your TV on and flip through the channels, control the lights… the thermostat… flush the toilet… make you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (I jest) and with their “Dash Buttons” you’ll be able to place orders for household essentials throughout the house with just a click of button. I’m sure you’ll need enough bandwidth to power a cryptocurrency mining facility… but you’ll never run out of Tide Pods! The future is here, and the future means you’ll never have to interact with real humans or jump right into the shower because you ran out of toilet paper.
And of course, not to be out done by their friends to the north (I probably could have worked in a Game of Thrones referenced here, but I refrained) we head back down to Cupertino, CA to check in with Tim, Siri and the Geniuses. Apple is cooking up a potential partnership with Goldman Sachs to provide credit services via Apple pay. The details are murky, but the initial reports suggest that this could be more than just a virtual credit card… Siri might become the first virtual LO and help guide us through the mortgage process. What?! Yea… and of course, like his predecessor before him, Tim will keep a lid on the roll out. We’ll probably have to wait a few years before we see anything definitive… but it looks like banks and non-banks alike are going to have some new competition in the housing industry... artificial intelligence.
Talk to you soon!
MJ
The opinions expressed in this post are the sole view of the writer and do not reflect the opinion of Princeton Mortgage Corporation.