While some banks and lenders exit the mortgage arena, Wealthfront is entering via its new venture “Wealthfront Home Lending.”
The so-called robo-advisor based out of Palo Alto, California has decided to try their hand at mortgages, perhaps believing the worst is behind us.
It’s been a rough few years for mortgage companies thanks to skyrocketing interest rates, but maybe just maybe the future is bright.
Wealthfront plans to find out, though initially they’ll only roll out to a few states to test it out.
If all goes well, they plan to expand both geographically and product menu-wise.
Wealthfront Home Lending Fast Facts
- Home loan lending division of parent company Wealthfront (a robo-advisor)
- Offers home purchase financing and mortgage refinancing
- Located in San Francisco, CA, founded in late 2025
- Initially launching in three state: California, Colorado, and Texas
- Lending menu consists of conventional and jumbo loan options
- Loan amounts as large as $5 million
- Say they offer mortgage rates well below national average
Despite being a robo-advisor and wealth management company, Wealthfront is expanding into home loan origination.
It’s kind of similar to the recent Robinhood deal with Sage Home Loans, in that they’re expanding their product menu beyond just stock trading and wealth management.
But Robinhood has simply partnered with a third-party mortgage lender to provide discounts to its Gold members, while Wealthfront is actually a standalone mortgage lender now.
As noted, the name of the new division is Wealthfront Home Lending and it’s located in downtown San Francisco, just about 30 miles north of its parent company.
The reason they got into mortgages is because the company discovered that homeownership is a “key goal” for its clients.
Their mortgage waitlist has a median age of 35 and an average of $310,000 across their Wealthfront accounts, with the majority planning to buy a home in the next 6-12 months.
The company said a large portion of waitlist signups came from clients living in Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
And it just so happens they’re going to launch in three states to start, including California, Colorado, and Texas.
Customers who live in other states can join their waitlist and will be notified if and when they launch in additional metros.
Applying for a Mortgage with Wealthfront
Like its parent company, they will lean heavily on technology to provide a more streamlined mortgage experience and also to save their customers money.
In the process, they believe they’ll be able to offer mortgage rates below the national average.
Of course, the national average isn’t necessarily a low rate. So it’s always important to still shop around to ensure there’s not an even better deal out there.
Pricing aside, you’ll be able to “skip the hassle and pressure of a sales call” by starting the home loan process on your own.
Borrowers will be able to apply directly from the Wealthfront app with no human intervention necessary, something those 30-somethings seem to favor these days.
Once you input some basic information, you’ll be able to generate a personalized mortgage rate, get pre-approved and create a pre-approval letter, and officially apply and start the process.
After your application is decisioned by a loan underwriter, you’ll be able to track status via the app, satisfy outstanding loan conditions, and even move on to the closing phase of the process, all electronically.
Basically it’s going to be a very electronic/digital process that is as hands-off as you want it to be.
And you’ll be able to move as fast or as slowly as you feel comfortable.
What Does Wealthfront Home Lending Offer?
Their lending menu is fairly no frills at the moment, but it will tick the major boxes and cover most vanilla loan scenarios.
This means you’ll be able to get a home purchase loan or a refinance loan, such as a rate and term refinance or cash-out refinance.
Wealthfront Home Lending is initially sticking to just conventional loans and jumbo loans, meaning mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and those that exceed the conforming loan limit.
Speaking of, they’re offering some really big loan amounts, likely a reflection of the affluent clientele at their parent company.
Because they’re operating in high-cost metros like Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area, they will offer loan amounts as high as $5 million with fixed or adjustable rates (ARMs).
Their conventional ARM options will be available up to $1.2 million for a single-family home and up to $2.3 million for multi-unit properties.
They plan to roll out jumbo adjustable-rate mortgages beginning in 2026.
Notably absent are government-backed loans, including FHA loans, VA loans, and USDA loans.
It doesn’t appear that they offer second mortgages either, so no home equity loans or HELOCs just yet.
But that could all change over time as they get their footing and decide to expand.
They lend on a variety of property types, including single-family homes, condos/townhomes, and even 1- to 4-unit investment properties.
Wealthfront Home Lending Mortgage Rates
With regard to their mortgage rates, they seem to be approaching things from a discount mortgage lender perspective.
But at the same time, serving affluent clients in expensive cities who are tech-savvy.
Wealthfront notes that similar to their Cash Account, which is a high-yield checking account, they cut out the intermediaries and manual processes to reduce costs for their customers.
By leaning on technology and automation, and dare I say AI, they’re able to run leaner and the savings are passed onto their customers.
Because of their automated, self-serve process, mortgage customers will be able to obtain mortgage rates “well below the national average.”
How well below is another question, but it’s a good start I suppose…
To sum things up, Wealthfront Home Lending is yet another brokerage and fintech name entering the mortgage space.
It’s good to see more competition and some fresh ideas in a space that is still somewhat old school.
Those who are comfortable going it alone with vanilla loan scenarios, such as a W-2 job, high credit score, large down payment, should be well-served here.
It sounds like a quick and painless process and if the rates AND fees are also competitive, they’re certainly worth checking out.
Just note that you do need to be a Wealthfront customer with an open account that is funded in order to gain access to the mortgage waitlist.
Before creating this site, I worked as an account executive for a wholesale mortgage lender in Los Angeles. My hands-on experience in the early 2000s inspired me to begin writing about mortgages 19 years ago to help prospective (and existing) home buyers better navigate the home loan process. Follow me on X for hot takes.
