Approximately 4 years ago we first reported on an up and coming mortgage comparison site called SmartHippo. The site took on the challenge of creating a website that combined real time mortgage rates with a social/community experience mixed in.  Unfortunately, today I received an email stating that the site will be taken down at the end of the month.

“We regret to inform you that SmartHippo in its current form plans to shut down as of August 31. While we have played an important role in bringing transparency to the personal finance space, we ultimately were not able to translate this into the commercial success we had envisioned.
We continue to explore opportunities for the SmartHippo assets. We believe this can be a great opportunity for a lead aggregator, finance portal, or online lender.”
SmartHippo was based on an excellent concept, but ultimately struggled to build a long lasting community. I have argued a number of times how difficult it can be to build a community that reaches the point of organic growth. While there are a number of sites that have been able to provide enough value that encourages the user to return and participate on the site over and over, it is extremely difficult. Especially when the product or service is one that is infrequently acquired like a mortgage. However, that is just my opinion and maybe someone will swoop up the SmartHippo assets and give it a shot on their own.
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