For those of you that have been following our blogs (we appreciate the support!), back in January I wrote about Amazon's search for HQ2 and the impacts that it would have on the chosen city. Since then, Amazon hasn’t slowed down in the least bit, and in fact, they’ve pressed on the gas. Let’s summarize some of the moves they’ve made so far…just this year:
they’re expanding their cashier-less grocery store chain;
they’re starting their own delivery service that would compete with USPS, FedEx and UPS;
they’re collaborating with JPMorgan Chase & Berkshire Hathaway to enter the healthcare industry;
they acquired a doorbell company for $1B (that Mark Cuban and the rest of the sharks turned down) which people speculate is another Bezos chess move against Google and Apple – and to maybe enter the home security industry?
But the latest announcement should make people in our industry pay attention – Amazon is looking to get into the mortgage lending business… yes, you read that correctly. And to take it one step further, they’re accepting applications for the person to lead that division. Don’t worry, before they go full-fledge mortgages, their testing the waters of the financial industry by teaming up with a “big bank” to offer hybrid-checking accounts… again, yes, you read that correctly. Now there’s still a long way to go before you start seeing an Amazon rate sheet, but if this tells us anything, it’s that nothing is out of reach for Amazon and that by taking risks and seizing opportunities, you could see a payoff far beyond your imagination. I doubt that Jeff Bezos thought he’d be entering the mortgage industry when he was selling books out of his garage.
I hope everyone has a wonderful day and an even better weekend and those on the East Coast, stay warm and stay safe!
Cheers!
JT
The opinions expressed in this post are the sole view of the writer and do not reflect the opinion of Princeton Mortgage Corporation.