Ernie Graham began his career as a hardware and software engineer but ultimately found his calling in real estate, managing hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions in Telluride, Colorado. That hands-on experience gave him the insight to return to technology, co-founding SocialBios (acquired by realtor.com in 2011) and later launching Homebot in 2015 to engage homeowners across the full lifecycle of homeownership.
In this executive conversation, Graham explains how lenders can transition from reactive to proactive engagement, leveraging private and personalized experiences to create meaningful consumer interactions. He demonstrates how building long-term relationships positions lenders and real estate agents as trusted wealth advisors, emphasizing that understanding the average consumer’s experience in real estate is crucial for designing technology that truly serves real estate agents, lenders, and homeowners.
HousingWire: What does ‘winning the discovery game’ actually mean, and how did you arrive at this strategic insight?
Ernie Graham: ‘Winning the discovery game’ means shifting from traditional home search – where consumers actively filter for what they want – to discovery, where listings and content proactively find them. Zillow mastered this by building engagement across the entire homeownership life cycle, not just at the point of transaction. By sustaining attention for years, they positioned themselves to influence the next buying or selling decision, creating a model that’s difficult to compete with head-to-head.
The strategic insight is that while most lenders can’t replicate Zillow’s top-down approach, they can win from the bottom up. By leveraging financial insights for their existing clients and prospects, curation of homes gets curiously interesting. Affordability and wealth building opportunities hiding in plain sight can now be discovered. This discovery helps lenders strengthen relationships and maximizes their databases.
HW: Let’s get tactical. What does this ‘smarter discovery game’ look like in practice?
EG: I think most lenders focus on past clients while neglecting the far larger group of past prospects—people who applied but never closed. These prospects make up about 75% of a typical database and often don’t say “no” permanently, just “not now.” By ignoring them, lenders leave significant future opportunities untapped.
Homebot helps lenders engage both clients and prospects by curating personalized listings and insights that align with each stage of the homeowner journey. Whether it’s affordability options for first-time buyers, helpful insights for homeowners that have just listed their home, or investment-driven recommendations, Homebot keeps lenders relevant without massive ad spend. This smarter discovery approach ensures they stay top of mind and positioned for the next transaction.
HW: Private search is at the heart of this strategy. How does creating a private search experience become such a powerful differentiator, and what makes it so effective?
EG: So, private search works because safety drives engagement. In public environments, consumers hesitate to explore; they know entering an email or using a tool often triggers unwanted calls, emails, and ads. A private experience removes that fear, giving homeowners control and interaction only with trusted parties, like their lender or agent. This trust allows them to click, explore, and dream freely.
Search is ultimately about dreaming—whether imagining a first home, planning a remodel, or considering upsizing. By embedding that experience in a private context, engagement becomes more authentic and meaningful. Major platforms are recognizing this trend, but what sets this approach apart is its design for lenders and real estate agents in a compliant and collaborative manner—a problem the industry has struggled to solve for years.
HW: You often say that most loan officers are sitting on a goldmine in their existing database. How does discovery turn dormant prospects into active leads?
EG: Well, it’s pretty typical of the times. Consumers don’t want mortgages; they want homes. Same with web search – they don’t want a list of websites, they just want answers. Now let’s apply this idea to traditional home search. Consumers don’t want a list of homes that can’t or won’t work for them. Filtered search using beds, baths, and square footage tend to over-index on lifestyle and overlook financial outcomes, such as affordability or appreciation, which are crucial for wealth building. Most technology to date has displaced human guidance without improving results: home sales volume and satisfaction have remained relatively unchanged for 25 years despite billions invested in technology.
Large language models change that. Buyers can now describe what they want in natural language, and the technology curates listings that match both lifestyle and financial priorities. This transforms dormant prospects into active leads. For loan officers, it shifts the focus from acquisition to retention—engaging both past clients and past prospects with personalized insights and timely recommendations, helping them make smarter home decisions, and increasing the lifetime value of their database.
Discovery becomes the bridge between a consumer’s life goals and actionable financial opportunities. That’s powerful. Another key opportunity is treating transactional experiences—such as interest rate-driven refi opportunities or annual insurance renewals—as content discovery, rather than just throw away call-to-action. By integrating these touchpoints into a personalized experience, lenders can provide value, deepen relationships, and create recurring engagement.
HW: Let’s talk about ‘Holly the homeowner’ – your guiding persona. How has focusing on Holly’s journey shaped your discovery strategies, and can you share some success stories of how this approach has transformed client relationships in practice?
EG: From the beginning, our North Star has been Holly the homeowner. She has plenty of transaction specialists in her life. But after the deal, they typically disappear, leaving her without guidance on what is often her most significant source of wealth—her home. Homebot was built to change that by making complex data simple, safe, and actionable. Through experiences like Homebot Digest and Search, we help Holly easily understand when it’s the right time to buy, sell, rent, remodel, refi…what we call “green on the screen.” It’s about giving her the confidence to make major wealth-building decisions.
For loan officers and real estate agents, this approach creates lasting relationships. Instead of fading after a transaction, their brand stays front and center by continuously delivering value. This builds trust, creates a halo effect of brand recall, and positions them as a long-term advisor rather than a one-time service provider. Focusing on Holly keeps the homeowner empowered and the professional connected, transforming client relationships into durable, value-driven partnerships.
HW: How does this discovery strategy reposition lenders and real estate agents as ongoing wealth advisors rather than one-time transaction facilitators?
EG: Real estate agents and lenders have always been part of a wealth management team, but their efforts have historically been disjointed, each doing their own marketing and disengaging from each other once a transaction closes. Lenders often think long-term, positioning themselves as partners in building generational wealth, while real estate agents face the challenge of infrequent touchpoints given the long gap between transactions. Still, both have roles in a client’s broader financial journey, and the market is shifting toward more unified, ongoing engagement rather than isolated interactions.That’s where platforms like Homebot come in. By consolidating marketing and tech stacks into a single digital experience, clients engage with one trusted environment rather than a patchwork of disconnected tools. Each professional maintains their role, real estate agents for real estate, lenders for finance, and insurers for protection, while the client benefits from a cohesive journey. This transformation repositions professionals as long-term advisors, strengthens consumer trust, and creates more frequent, meaningful opportunities for engagement and revenue.
English (US) · 