Digital mortgage lender Lowerhas announced the acquisition of flagship real estate portal Movoto. This acquisition combines Movoto’s significant reach with Lower’s lending platform and retail network, creating an end-to-end homeownership platform while offering a growth engine for real estate agents and loan officers.
Integrating Movoto.com, which attracted over 150 million visits in 2024, with Lower’s lending experience marks a significant step in Lower’s mission to be the ultimate destination to buy, refinance and sell a home, the company said. Movoto connects hundreds of thousands of consumers with top local agents and will now pair those realtors and consumers with a Lower loan officer to serve them right out of the gate.
“The future of our industry lies in blending the best technology with the irreplaceable expertise of local agents and loan officers,” said Dan Snyder, CEO and co-founder of Lower. “Movoto is the perfect platform to accelerate this vision, allowing us to create a simpler, smarter path to homeownership. Acquiring Movoto strengthens our position as the challenger platform, enhancing our ability to deliver the best localized and personalized service and capture significant market share.”
By seamlessly connecting local originators to thousands of motivated homebuyers and top-performing agents in their markets, Lower is eliminating one of the biggest barriers to growth: customer acquisition. This digital-first platform delivers a steady stream of high-intent buyers looking to get pre-approved, allowing originators to focus on building relationships and closing deals.
“The bigger portals touch almost everyone online but fail to help those customers through the whole process. By focusing on how technology empowers local connections we can deliver better service to the consumer and build a business that generates far more profit per visitor,” said John Berkowitz, CEO of Movoto, who will join Lower as president of real estate.
“Modern technology should work for the local loan officer, not replace them,” said Craig Montgomery, chief strategy officer and head of retail at Lower. “Movoto arms originators and agents with real-time opportunities and puts them at the center of the homebuying journey – right where they belong. It’s the kind of innovation that puts originators in a position to win consistently.”
The combined company will have more than 1,000 employees with offices in Columbus, Ohio and Austin, Texas. Immediately after closing, the teams will integrate Movoto into the Lower brand. The financial details of the transaction are undisclosed. Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Ojo Labs (the prior parent company of Movoto) through the merger.
