2998: How Better.com is Transforming the Home Buying Experience With Tech

[00:00:01] [SPEAKER_00]: What if buying a home could be as simple as clicking a Buy It Now button?

[00:00:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, today on Tech Talks Daily I'm welcoming the visionary CEO of Better.com onto the podcast

[00:00:13] [SPEAKER_00]: and he's going to be sharing how they are transforming the real estate and mortgage landscapes with

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_00]: cutting edge technology.

[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_00]: And there was a whole scene around this called PropTech or PropertyTech but I want to learn

[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_00]: more about the problems it's solving. With interest rates and market dynamics in constant

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_00]: flux, the process of purchasing a home is undergoing somewhat of a digital revolution promising

[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_00]: unprecedented efficiency and accessibility.

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: So my guest today is going to discuss the future of housing, the impact of technology

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_00]: on those cumbersome traditional processes and how at Better.com they're at the

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_00]: forefront of this transformation offering things like rapid pre-approvals and commitment

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_00]: letters in record time.

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Delivering daily content to 140,000 of you wonderful monthly listeners across the globe

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_00]: is no small feat. I don't want to tech all the credit here because it wouldn't be possible

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_00]: without the backing of our dedicated sponsors and partners.

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[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_00]: moderate authorised. Thank you for your patience today. This is the moment you've been waiting

[00:01:59] [SPEAKER_00]: for. It's time to welcome my guest onto the show.

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_00]: So buckle up and hold on tight as I beam your ears all the way to New York where

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_00]: we're going to redefine what it means to buy. Where we're going to find out

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00]: more about how technology is redefining what it means to buy at home in the

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_00]: digital age.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_00]: So a massive warm welcome to the show. Can you tell everyone listening a little

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_00]: bit who you are and what you do?

[00:02:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Hi, I'm Vishal Garg. I'm the founder and CEO of Better.com which is the leading online

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_01]: mortgage originator in the country. And we're hoping and working really hard to make

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_01]: homeownership more accessible, more affordable for all Americans by making the mortgage

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_01]: process and the home insurance process and the realtor process better, faster, cheaper

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_01]: and easier for all consumers.

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast because every single day on here I

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_00]: try and get a completely different topic and get people thinking about how

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_00]: technology is impacting areas that they might not associate with technology.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_00]: So just to set the scene for our conversation today, can you give me an

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00]: overview of your outlook for the housing market in 2024 over there and

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_00]: how it contrasts with the challenges faced last year?

[00:03:11] [SPEAKER_01]: I think 2024 has still been a pretty challenging year for the housing market.

[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_01]: For most of the past six months, interest rates here in the US have been seven

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_01]: and a half to eight percent, which makes buying a home pretty expensive for most

[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_01]: consumers. There's also been a lack of supply.

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_01]: All that has really started to change in the past 30, 60 days where the number

[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_01]: of homes for sale has started going up pretty dramatically.

[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_01]: And we starting to see real light at the end of the tunnel on a potential

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_01]: rate cut in the month of September.

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_01]: So people were really hoping for 2024 to be a bumper year where

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_01]: the combination of rate cuts plus increased supply, we're going to meet

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_01]: and create a really booming housing market.

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_01]: But I think instead we're going to get, you know, a muted housing market

[00:03:57] [SPEAKER_01]: in 2024 and a booming housing market in 2025.

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_00]: And for saying there's two and a half thousand, three thousand miles between

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_00]: is everything you're saying that feels very reminiscent of what it is like

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_00]: here at the moment, exactly the same problems.

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_00]: And also if we're looking for houses here in the UK,

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: most things are done online over here in the UK.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Right move is a huge example of that.

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Is that the same in the US as well?

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Is technology a huge part of that industry?

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, it's really interesting.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Technology is a huge part of the search process.

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_01]: So consumers are using it to search for houses, to look at which houses

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_01]: to go and visit.

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_01]: And then from there, the technology dies and it becomes an entirely

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_01]: manual human intermediated process, which is not changed in the past 50 years.

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Basically, from the moment that you decide that you actually want to buy a house,

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_01]: the whole process becomes super old school.

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_01]: People are sending you emails and PDFs and you're filling out forms

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER_01]: on paper and signing them and then scanning them and sending them back.

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, most of the process exists as if the internet was never invented.

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm kind of relieved that you said that because I thought we were stuck

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_00]: in those olden times here in the UK.

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Everything seems to take so long now.

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_00]: What's the average sale process from selling your house

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_00]: to moving into your new home?

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_00]: How long does that take?

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER_01]: I think it's a 60 to 90 day process to do that with the mortgage

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_01]: being the actual longest end of that process where the average mortgage

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_01]: today takes on average 55 days to get.

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_01]: It's about the same.

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_01]: And that today in the where we're living in, in the age of AI,

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_01]: that process should take one day, if not less.

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I say the same here in the UK, like eight, nine weeks is the average.

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And you think with the speed of AI and everything at our as consumers,

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_00]: everything this instant gratification almost.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_00]: So how do you foresee a reduction in competition with this robust

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_00]: demand as key indicators of a revitalized market service?

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Can you elaborate on the factors driving some of these predictions

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: that you've made and maybe expand on them too?

[00:06:12] [SPEAKER_01]: So in respect to the competition in the mortgage market,

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_01]: back at peak in twenty twenty one, there were over a hundred and seventy

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_01]: thousand licensed mortgage brokers in the United States,

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_01]: individuals with the licenses to be a mortgage consultant.

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_01]: And that number is down to less than 90,000.

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_01]: So it's down by over 45 percent.

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_01]: So the amount of competition in the mortgage industry has come down

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_01]: dramatically with a lot of people leaving the industry.

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_01]: The same is happening with the realtor industry.

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_01]: In the US, we've had the large commission lawsuits and their settlements.

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_01]: And it's now becoming increasingly harder for real estate brokers

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_01]: to charge commissions on the buy side to consumers.

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And so we're seeing, you know, effectively commissions come down

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_01]: and therefore the number of realtors who can actually make a living

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_01]: being a realtor coming down.

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_01]: So their competition in that vertical is coming down.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_01]: So we're starting to see a real thinning out of competition

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_01]: in both of the real estate and the mortgage lending verticals

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_01]: happen as, you know, the rate environment has continued to be tough

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_01]: and housing inventories continue to be low.

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_00]: And despite potential fluctuations in finance volumes, I was also reading

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_00]: that you expect a huge surge in purchase activity in the second half of 2024.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_00]: So lots to be hopeful about.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_00]: But what are the main factors contributing to this

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_00]: anticipated increase in home purchase?

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_01]: The biggest things that are contributing to that are the fact

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_01]: that people have been putting off buying a home for two to three years

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_01]: and have now become comfortable with the interest rates that are out there.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Now it's sort of 7% land.

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_01]: The fact is that rents have gone up even higher than interest rates have gone up.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_01]: And so the equation between renting or buying seems to be attractive again

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_01]: as rates come down below 7% versus staying in a home where you're renting

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_01]: and the rent goes up seven to 10% annually.

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's what's causing people to really, you know, step into the market again

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_01]: and couple that with migration patterns that are taking place in the United States

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_01]: where people from the Northeast, people from the West are moving more to the South,

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER_01]: the Southwest and those migration patterns means there's a ton of houses

[00:08:32] [SPEAKER_01]: coming up for sale in the Northeast and in California and Oregon and Washington.

[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_01]: And that's, you know, those are houses that can pass from the

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_01]: boomer generation down to the millennials

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_01]: in a pre-meaningful manner and people are actually transacting.

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And it's so refreshing to see that your outlook is so much more optimistic

[00:08:52] [SPEAKER_00]: than other projections out there.

[00:08:54] [SPEAKER_00]: So are there any other financial indicators or economic trends

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_00]: that lead you to predict this quicker recovery and potential economic soft landing?

[00:09:03] [SPEAKER_01]: I think the biggest thing that you can see is the housing inventory go up

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_01]: where now basically sellers and buyers are starting to find levels that they can meet at.

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And for first time buyers that might be listening anywhere in the world,

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER_00]: any advice you'd give them in the current market conditions and how they might be

[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_00]: able to leverage technology as this is a tech podcasting?

[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I would tell them that now is a great time to start looking for a home.

[00:09:27] [SPEAKER_01]: The reason is you can buy a home where prices are now slightly depressed

[00:09:32] [SPEAKER_01]: and supply is now available and you likely can refinance your mortgage

[00:09:39] [SPEAKER_01]: in the coming year or two at a much lower rate.

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_01]: So if you can afford to buy a home today,

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_01]: you're going to be able to dramatically increase your affordability

[00:09:49] [SPEAKER_01]: and actually get into housing at a time when prices are a little bit stable or down.

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_01]: And the way to do it is leverage technology.

[00:09:59] [SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, at Bettear, we have something called a one day mortgage

[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_01]: that we launched about a year and a half ago where a consumer can come in,

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_01]: get approved and get a commitment letter in as little as eight hours

[00:10:12] [SPEAKER_01]: on our platform on average.

[00:10:15] [SPEAKER_01]: And that means that the day they look to want to put in a bit for a house,

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_01]: they can also be approved for financing to buy that house

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER_01]: and maybe can even waive their financing contingency.

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_01]: And so that we think is pretty magical for consumers

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER_01]: who are in the home shopping journey

[00:10:30] [SPEAKER_01]: and can enable them to have speed and certainty throughout the process,

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_01]: which enables them to put in a better bid than their competitors

[00:10:39] [SPEAKER_01]: for the house that they fall in love with.

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_00]: A mortgage within eight hours.

[00:10:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, that's fantastic.

[00:10:43] [SPEAKER_00]: It's great to hear how the technology is making a big difference there.

[00:10:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And at better.com, you've probably seen so many different changes,

[00:10:50] [SPEAKER_00]: the technologies coming in, redefining processes, etc.

[00:10:54] [SPEAKER_00]: How are you at better.com?

[00:10:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Redefining the entire home buying experience with technology

[00:10:58] [SPEAKER_00]: and any unique value that your platform offers to both first time buyers

[00:11:04] [SPEAKER_00]: and seasoned home buyers that are out there that are leveraging this technology too.

[00:11:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think the biggest thing that better.com does for you is provide speed

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_01]: and certainty and a great rate.

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_01]: And we leverage technology in multiple ways to do that.

[00:11:19] [SPEAKER_01]: The first is get you pre-approved within three minutes.

[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_01]: So our algorithms are able to match you with our 35 different investors,

[00:11:26] [SPEAKER_01]: get them all their criteria after you just input in a few pieces of data

[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_01]: and then be able to pre-approve you in a fast fashion

[00:11:33] [SPEAKER_01]: where you have transparency on rate and your approval process faster than,

[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_01]: you know, it takes to pick up the phone and call up your local bank.

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Right. So we're we're really leveraging technology to do that from that process,

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_01]: from getting pre-approved to actually getting a commitment letter from us.

[00:11:50] [SPEAKER_01]: We're leveraging AI to take away all the documents

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_01]: that are typically needed to be gathered there,

[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_01]: leveraging it to automatically extract data from documents.

[00:12:00] [SPEAKER_01]: You just upload them and leave them at would be with us.

[00:12:02] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll get all the data entry for you.

[00:12:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Then use those platforms to algorithmically underwrite you

[00:12:11] [SPEAKER_01]: and get you a commitment letter within eight hours.

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_01]: One of the most interesting things that we're seeing now

[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_01]: is with the level of digitization on our platform,

[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_01]: 10 percent of our customers are getting underwritten in under one second.

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_01]: So literally they come in, they get pre-approved,

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_01]: they lock their rate and they've got a commitment letter in hand

[00:12:33] [SPEAKER_01]: within a second of locking their rate.

[00:12:36] [SPEAKER_01]: So we are seeing advances in technology get so strong

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_01]: and so powerful that you can basically underwrite a mortgage

[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_01]: without any human intervention whatsoever.

[00:12:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And just listening to you there is clear that the digital home ownership landscape

[00:12:53] [SPEAKER_00]: is evolving so rapidly at the moment.

[00:12:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm curious, if someone right in the heart of this space,

[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_00]: what trends or innovations do you see further shaping this space

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_00]: in the coming year and how are you at beta.com position to lead in this area?

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_01]: I think in the next five years,

[00:13:09] [SPEAKER_01]: we're going to see on all every property website in the country,

[00:13:13] [SPEAKER_01]: in the US and the UK a Buy It Now button.

[00:13:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. That's how.

[00:13:18] [SPEAKER_01]: And you're going to be have you're going to get pre-approved,

[00:13:20] [SPEAKER_01]: you're going to get commitment letter for financing before you go

[00:13:23] [SPEAKER_01]: to actually buy a house and then you're going to be able to see

[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_01]: all the houses where you can just press a button and buy it now.

[00:13:29] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's going to be amazing for consumers.

[00:13:31] [SPEAKER_01]: It's going to drive real price transparency.

[00:13:35] [SPEAKER_01]: It's going to enable people to buy and sell houses a lot faster

[00:13:38] [SPEAKER_01]: and at much lower conditions.

[00:13:41] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think it'll revolutionize the entire real estate industry

[00:13:43] [SPEAKER_01]: in the same way that Amazon and eBay revolutionized e-commerce.

[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I can just hear light bulb moments going off all around the world.

[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_00]: As you said that as we look ahead,

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_00]: are there any challenges and equally opportune is that you anticipate

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_00]: for the mortgage industry?

[00:13:59] [SPEAKER_00]: And again, how are you preparing to address these?

[00:14:03] [SPEAKER_01]: I think the key challenge for the mortgage industry today is

[00:14:06] [SPEAKER_01]: how to continue to address the needs of a next generation of consumers

[00:14:14] [SPEAKER_01]: whose demands are who thought that all houses already had a Buy It Now button.

[00:14:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Right. And you know, they're coming along for the first time

[00:14:22] [SPEAKER_01]: and they're like, wait, why does this everything take so long?

[00:14:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Why is this also broken?

[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_01]: The same feeling I had 10 years ago when I started this company

[00:14:29] [SPEAKER_01]: and I said, you know, it's just going to take some time to do that.

[00:14:32] [SPEAKER_01]: But I think the banking industry and the traditional mortgage brokers

[00:14:36] [SPEAKER_01]: are ill equipped to meet the consumer where they're at.

[00:14:39] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think there's a challenge that is,

[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_01]: you know, that those industries are going to have to evolve much more

[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_01]: rapidly to meet the consumer where they're at as the pace of technology

[00:14:49] [SPEAKER_00]: adoption big sell. Yeah, I completely agree with you.

[00:14:52] [SPEAKER_00]: It was a great quote.

[00:14:52] [SPEAKER_00]: It's about a decade old now that the last best experience

[00:14:55] [SPEAKER_00]: we have anywhere becomes a standard expectation that we expect to see everywhere.

[00:15:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, a lot of those experiences are not the same in the workplace

[00:15:03] [SPEAKER_00]: or in those situations like buying a house, for example.

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's got to change, hasn't it?

[00:15:09] [SPEAKER_01]: 100%. Yeah. I think the consumers just demand more.

[00:15:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Thanks so much for sharing your insights around prop tech

[00:15:16] [SPEAKER_00]: and all the exciting advancements there.

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_00]: But I'd love you to leave one final gift for everyone listening.

[00:15:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And that is a song or a book that we can add to either a Spotify playlist

[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_00]: or an Amazon wish list.

[00:15:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Or I'm going to ask you, which would you like to leave and why?

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_01]: I would love for everyone to read Made in America by Sam Walton,

[00:15:37] [SPEAKER_01]: who is the founder of Walmart and really revolutionized retailing in America

[00:15:42] [SPEAKER_01]: and the world by introducing the concept of providing a superior product

[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_01]: at a lower price every day to consumers

[00:15:51] [SPEAKER_01]: and really disrupted modern retail and doing that

[00:15:54] [SPEAKER_01]: and set forth a lot of the key tenets that then got adopted by many

[00:15:58] [SPEAKER_01]: of the companies that lead e-commerce today.

[00:16:02] [SPEAKER_01]: It's really interesting because now as I'm a little older,

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_01]: you know, I think about, wait, should I be doing startups when I'm 45 years old?

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_01]: And it was interesting to see here that Sam Walton started his first Walmart

[00:16:15] [SPEAKER_01]: like when he was 44 years old.

[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_01]: And so that he started his first startup like then.

[00:16:19] [SPEAKER_01]: And so what was is so I draw a lot of inspiration from him.

[00:16:23] [SPEAKER_01]: It gives me the energy and courage to keep driving

[00:16:27] [SPEAKER_01]: hard every day and know that, you know, in the next 10, 20, 30 years,

[00:16:31] [SPEAKER_01]: we're going to revolutionize and dramatically change home ownership for everyone.

[00:16:35] [SPEAKER_00]: And that energy, that passion for everything that you do,

[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_00]: I think really shines through in our conversation today.

[00:16:41] [SPEAKER_00]: So before I let you go, where's the best place for anybody listening

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_00]: anywhere in the world to find you or your team online and find out more

[00:16:48] [SPEAKER_00]: about anything we talked about and maybe look at some of those predictions that you made.

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_01]: In the US, go to better.com in the UK, go to better.co.uk.

[00:16:57] [SPEAKER_01]: We're there.

[00:16:58] [SPEAKER_01]: We're making home ownership better for everyone in the US and the UK

[00:17:03] [SPEAKER_01]: and hopefully everywhere else going forward.

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Fantastic.

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I will add links to everything you mentioned now.

[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, also going to check that out.

[00:17:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I didn't realize you were in the UK, so I'll be checking out your UK website.

[00:17:15] [SPEAKER_00]: We covered so much there, but I think your valuable insights into not only the mortgage

[00:17:19] [SPEAKER_00]: industry, but the market trends and that future of getting to that where you just

[00:17:23] [SPEAKER_00]: one button to buy a house, just phenomenal.

[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_00]: I'll be watching this very closely as it continues to evolve.

[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_00]: And love to get you on next year and see what kind of predictions

[00:17:32] [SPEAKER_00]: or how you're seeing things evolve next year as well.

[00:17:35] [SPEAKER_00]: But thanks for joining me today.

[00:17:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Really appreciate it.

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Of course. Thank you for having me, Neil.

[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_00]: So a big thank you to Vishal for joining us today

[00:17:42] [SPEAKER_00]: and sharing so many insightful perspectives on the evolving world of homebuying

[00:17:48] [SPEAKER_00]: and indeed the mortgage industry.

[00:17:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And it's clear that technology like what they've developed at better.com

[00:17:54] [SPEAKER_00]: is not just enhancing the way we buy homes, but revolutionizing it,

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_00]: offering speed, efficiency and transparency that was previously unimaginable.

[00:18:06] [SPEAKER_00]: And as we look to the future where digital processes dominate the real

[00:18:10] [SPEAKER_00]: estate landscape, I invite you listening to reflect on how these changes

[00:18:14] [SPEAKER_00]: might impact your own homebuying journey.

[00:18:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Wherever you are in the world, I love to hear your thoughts.

[00:18:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And if you're working in the industry, some of the changes that you're seeing,

[00:18:25] [SPEAKER_00]: what excites you about that?

[00:18:26] [SPEAKER_00]: What do you think the future holds for home ownership?

[00:18:29] [SPEAKER_00]: There's a whole other podcast right there.

[00:18:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And how prepared are you to embrace these technological advancements?

[00:18:35] [SPEAKER_00]: There's so many different talking points and questions.

[00:18:38] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'd love for you to join me in continuing that conversation.

[00:18:42] [SPEAKER_00]: So whether it is asking me a question or maybe you want to sit down with me

[00:18:46] [SPEAKER_00]: for 30 minutes and we'll explore it some more, whatever is easiest for you.

[00:18:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Simply email me, tech blog writer at outlook.com, Twitter, LinkedIn,

[00:18:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Instagram, just at Neil C Hughes.

[00:18:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Don't just hit follow.

[00:18:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Send me a DM.

[00:18:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Let me know what you thought of today's episode and any key takeaways

[00:19:02] [SPEAKER_00]: that you had or anything you thought we missed.

[00:19:05] [SPEAKER_00]: And together we can all keep up with the latest trends in property

[00:19:09] [SPEAKER_00]: technology around the world.

[00:19:10] [SPEAKER_00]: At least that is the plan.

[00:19:12] [SPEAKER_00]: That is why I record these interviews every single day.

[00:19:15] [SPEAKER_00]: And on that, I hope you'll join me again tomorrow.

[00:19:17] [SPEAKER_00]: We'll explore a completely different topic with a different guest.

[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_00]: But more than anything, you guessed it.

[00:19:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks so much for listening and spending 30 minutes with me.

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully you'll join me again tomorrow and until next time.

[00:19:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Don't be a stranger.