The largest residential mortgage lender in the U.S. is about to enter the Canadian mortgage market.
Rocket Mortgage U.S. announced today that it will officially begin doing business across Canada under the brand Rocket Mortgage starting August 8. It will do so through a rebrand of Ontario-based digital mortgage brokerage Edison Financial.
The company says its mission will be to “revolutionize” the Canadian mortgage industry with an emphasis on “harnessing technology to simplify the home loan process.”
“Our mission when we launched over two years ago was to use technology to improve the mortgage experience in Canada, making life easier for homebuyers and homeowners,” Hash Aboulhosn, President of Rocket Mortgage in Canada, said in a release. “Today’s announcement is the first step in bringing Canadians a vastly improved mortgage process through technology, innovation and client service.”
Windsor, ON-based Edison Financial started doing business in March 2020 and has already reached $1 billion in annualized submitted volume (though its total closed volume isn’t clear). The company says it is the first Canadian brokerage to reach that milestone so quickly.
Edison has also grown from providing mortgages strictly in Ontario at its launch to serving every province, while offering clients access to thousands of loan products from over 50 lenders.
Rocket Mortgage says it also plans to become a direct lender in Canada “later this year.”
“I’m excited for what’s to come as we continue to positively impact the way Canadians view getting a home loan,” Aboulhosn added.
Bringing its U.S. experience to Canada
Bob Walters, CEO of Rocket Mortgage in the U.S., said the company has “spent the last 37 years defining and redefining the way mortgages should be done in the U.S.”
“Now we have the opportunity through this rebrand to share everything we’ve learned with our neighbours to the north,” he added in his statement. “Our process removes the complexity of getting a home loan – replacing it with a fast, enjoyable experience. This is something that has been lacking in the Canadian market, and we are eager to help our sister company show Canadians just how simple getting a mortgage can be.”
Detroit-based Rocket Mortgage closed USD$351 billion dollars of mortgage volume across all 50 states in 2021.
Its parent company, Rocket Companies, provided seed funding for Edison Financial’s relaunch in 2020, and purchased the Vancouver-based mortgage technology company Lendesk in 2019.
