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Builder Confidence Upticks as Interest Rates Move Lower in U.S.

National Association of Home Builders | August 20, 2019

According to the National Association of Home Builders, U.S. builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose one point to 66 in August 2019, based on the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released this past week. Sentiment levels have held at a solid 64-to-66 level for the past four months.

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The New Traditional Asset Class

For generations, public markets have been the beating heart of capitalism, reaching their zenith in the latter part of 20th Century, when stock markets in Wall Street, the City of London, Hong Kong, and others were the great centers of capital raising, corporate investment and growth.

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Spotlight

The New Traditional Asset Class

For generations, public markets have been the beating heart of capitalism, reaching their zenith in the latter part of 20th Century, when stock markets in Wall Street, the City of London, Hong Kong, and others were the great centers of capital raising, corporate investment and growth.

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Snapdocs Builds Integration with Finastra to Enable a Seamless Closing Process for Trustmark

Businesswire | May 03, 2023

Snapdocs, the mortgage industry’s leading digital closing platform, today announced a new integration with Finastra’s Mortgagebot loan origination system (LOS) to support Trustmark’s eClose transformation. The integration allows Trustmark’s lenders nationwide to execute closings in one centralized workflow – using Snapdocs’ digital closing platform within the MortgagebotLOS platform – to drive faster closing times, reduce operating costs, and enhance the borrower experience. This partnership is the latest of five different integrations built by Snapdocs in just 12 months to give lenders the ability to connect their technology portfolio and further streamline the shift to digital closings. “The transition to digitized processes is the most successful when the technologies in a lender’s existing stack work harmoniously together,” said Camelia Martin, Vice President, eMortgage Strategy & Industry Affairs. “Our continued effort to expand our partner network and accompanying integrations with leading providers like Finastra is essential in creating more value for the entire mortgage ecosystem.” Trustmark National Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trustmark Corporation (NASDAQGS:TRMK), is already using the integration to automate the closing process across their technology ecosystem and deliver upleveled customer experiences. “Our mission since our founding in 1889 has been to achieve outstanding customer satisfaction. The integration between Snapdocs and MortgagebotLOS will build on the strong foundation we’ve built to move to digital mortgages by simplifying the eClosing process for all parties involved, and making it significantly easier for our borrowers to quickly review and sign closing packages the way they prefer,” said Robert Parker, Senior Vice President, Mortgage Services, Trustmark. With the new integration, Trustmark lenders can easily facilitate digital closings powered by Snapdocs and finalize transactions without leaving MortgagebotLOS. Lenders can order required closing documents and data within MortgagebotLOS and securely transmit them to Snapdocs to initiate the closing process. The completed documents are then encrypted and returned to MortgagebotLOS for secure storage. The result is a more efficient and transparent experience for all parties involved in the closing. “Our partnership with Snapdocs further validates our work to create a solution that’s open to innovation, and empowers our joint customers to adopt the technology and tools they need to grow in any type of market,” said Mary Kay Theriault, Director of Product Management at Finastra. “We’ve long admired Snapdocs’ work to redefine the mortgage experience and streamline what has traditionally been a very manual and labor-intensive process. This integration will only accelerate the move to digital mortgage closings and create a more efficient, secure, and transparent process for all participants.” About Snapdocs Snapdocs is the mortgage industry's leading digital closing platform. Powering millions of closings each year, Snapdocs combines an open platform, patented AI technology, an extensive settlement network, and a team of industry experts to ensure digital closing success. Our proven approach enables market-leading lenders and title companies to automate the closing process and turn it into a competitive advantage. Using Snapdocs, lenders and title companies close more loans at lower costs while delivering the modern, referral-worthy digital experience borrowers expect. For more information, please visit www.snapdocs.com. About Finastra Finastra is a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, and launched the leading open platform for innovation, FusionFabric.cloud, in 2017. It serves institutions of all sizes, providing award-winning solutions and services across Lending, Payments, Treasury & Capital Markets and Universal Banking (Retail, Digital and Commercial Banking) for banks to support direct banking relationships and grow through indirect channels, such as embedded finance and Banking as a Service. Its pioneering approach and commitment to open finance and collaboration is why it is trusted by ~8,600 institutions, including 90 of the world’s top 100 banks. For more information, visit finastra.com. About Trustmark Corporation Trustmark Corporation is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, with locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. Visit www.trustmark.com for more information.

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REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT

America First Credit Union to Offer Instant Home Equity Through FirstClose™

PRnewswire | May 10, 2023

FirstClose, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that America First Credit Union selected its FirstClose Equity™ solution to provide members access to a digital end-to-end home equity product that delivers a best-in-class experience and dramatically cuts down loan application approval times. Industry analysis shows U.S. homeowners with mortgages have seen their equity increase by a total of $1 trillion since the fourth quarter of 2021, a gain of 7.3% year over year. While home equity lending is experiencing rapid growth, it continues to be a friction-filled process driving demand for a solution. America First is a Utah-based credit union with 120 branches across Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, and New Mexico, serving more than 1.3 million members, making it the 5th largest credit union in the country in terms of membership. Using FirstClose Equity, America First will be able to reduce the time to close from initial inquiry to as little as one week, versus the industry average of 45 to 60 days. "Our focus is always on our members, and our partnership with FirstClose supports our goal of delivering the best member and processor experience possible," said Austin Coleman, Senior Vice President of Mortgage Lending at America First Credit Union. FirstClose Equity makes home equity a low-friction lending experience that consumers have come to expect. Consumers have one experience via a private labeled POS and borrower portal. The application process itself is extremely streamlined. With the member's consent, FirstClose Equity collects and verifies asset and employment information. Even the few pieces of information that the member is required to provide can be uploaded through the platform. The decisioning engine delivers a firm decision on CLTV and pricing in approximately 5 to 7 minutes. "Because we absorb many of the fees for our members, efficiency at every stage of the origination process takes on greater importance, and automation on both sides of the transaction is key," said Coleman. "Through our integration with FirstClose, loan officers, underwriters, and processors never have to leave their LOS, which greatly increases our efficiency with home equity lending." Founded in 2000, FirstClose offers lenders a user-friendly home equity technology solution to lend more efficiently, faster, and at scale. "We are thrilled to be trusted with such an important role of helping fulfill America First Credit Union's mission to provide their members with a simple and streamlined home equity experience," said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer of FirstClose. "We are the category leader and are committed to advancing our technology so our customers, like America First, can focus on what matters most - their member's experience and improving their bottom line." About America First Credit Union Founded in 1939, and with a long-standing history of exceptional member service, America First Credit Union has become one of the largest, most stable, and most progressive credit unions in the country, and has remained a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative financial institution. Today, America First has 120 locations, and is the eighth largest credit union in assets in the United States with over $17 billion, and the fifth largest credit union in membership in America with more than 1.3 million members. For more information, visit americafirst.com. About FirstClose Headquartered in Austin, Texas, FirstClose, Inc. provides fintech solutions to HELOC and mortgage lenders nationwide. The company's mission is to increase profitability and reduce cost for mortgage lenders. FirstClose makes this possible through offering systems and relationships that enable lenders to assist the lender's borrowers more effectively, reduce closing costs, and ultimately shorten closing times. For more information, visit firstclose.com.

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REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, MORTGAGE AND LENDING

SeeCares announces partnership with Northmarq; implements AI technology to accelerate loan quote process

PRnewswire | May 03, 2023

SeeCares, the world's premier artificial intelligence (AI) technology platform for streamlining commercial real estate financing workflows, announced today its strategic partnership with leading U.S. commercial real estate services firm Northmarq. Northmarq is incorporating SeeCares technology to significantly reduce the processing time to prepare and deliver loan quotes. Lowering that time from days or weeks to a few minutes enables Northmarq to provide an even greater speed of service for their clients. "With 7,000+ loans serviced, and $37B in deal volume annually, Northmarq is truly an industry leader and we're thrilled to be partnering together," said Moshe Yeli, CEO of SeeCares. "Their commitment to adopting AI in streamlining processes will ultimately put them at the industry forefront, and we're excited to help them reach more deals, at the best terms, more quickly." The SeeCares platform will leverage data analytics compiled from hundreds of data sources, making them accessible and usable via AI technology. As a result, Northmarq's unique models will be filled with relevant market data to produce loan quotes within minutes. "The SeeCares technology is revolutionizing this process at Northmarq, which will enable us to harness data and automation to streamline this strategic area of our business," said Jay Donaldson, president—Fannie Mae and FHA at Northmarq. "We look forward to continue collaborating with the SeeCares team and believe that harnessing data and automation to get clients smarter quotes faster will allow Northmarq to beat the experience and terms of any other commercial real estate lender in the market." About SeeCares SeeCares empowers CRE lenders, seller services, mortgage brokers, and sponsors to scale their business 10x faster using end-to-end underwriting automation and data aggregation. With SeeCares CRE stakeholders are able to optimize their analysis process and offer best-in-class service to their clients with instant loan quotes and credit memos. For more information, visit https://seecares.com. About Northmarq Northmarq is a full-service capital markets resource for commercial real estate investors, offering seamless collaboration with top experts in debt, equity, investment sales and loan servicing. We combine industry-leading capabilities with a flexible structure, enabling our national team of experienced professionals to create innovative solutions for clients. Our solid foundation and entrepreneurial approach have built an annual transaction volume of more than $37 billion and a loan servicing portfolio of nearly $76 billion. Through the 2022 acquisition of Stan Johnson Company and Four Pillars Capital Markets, Northmarq introduces clients to expanded opportunities across all major asset classes. For more information, visit www.Northmarq.com.

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REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT, MORTGAGE AND LENDING

Snapdocs Builds Integration with Finastra to Enable a Seamless Closing Process for Trustmark

Businesswire | May 03, 2023

Snapdocs, the mortgage industry’s leading digital closing platform, today announced a new integration with Finastra’s Mortgagebot loan origination system (LOS) to support Trustmark’s eClose transformation. The integration allows Trustmark’s lenders nationwide to execute closings in one centralized workflow – using Snapdocs’ digital closing platform within the MortgagebotLOS platform – to drive faster closing times, reduce operating costs, and enhance the borrower experience. This partnership is the latest of five different integrations built by Snapdocs in just 12 months to give lenders the ability to connect their technology portfolio and further streamline the shift to digital closings. “The transition to digitized processes is the most successful when the technologies in a lender’s existing stack work harmoniously together,” said Camelia Martin, Vice President, eMortgage Strategy & Industry Affairs. “Our continued effort to expand our partner network and accompanying integrations with leading providers like Finastra is essential in creating more value for the entire mortgage ecosystem.” Trustmark National Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trustmark Corporation (NASDAQGS:TRMK), is already using the integration to automate the closing process across their technology ecosystem and deliver upleveled customer experiences. “Our mission since our founding in 1889 has been to achieve outstanding customer satisfaction. The integration between Snapdocs and MortgagebotLOS will build on the strong foundation we’ve built to move to digital mortgages by simplifying the eClosing process for all parties involved, and making it significantly easier for our borrowers to quickly review and sign closing packages the way they prefer,” said Robert Parker, Senior Vice President, Mortgage Services, Trustmark. With the new integration, Trustmark lenders can easily facilitate digital closings powered by Snapdocs and finalize transactions without leaving MortgagebotLOS. Lenders can order required closing documents and data within MortgagebotLOS and securely transmit them to Snapdocs to initiate the closing process. The completed documents are then encrypted and returned to MortgagebotLOS for secure storage. The result is a more efficient and transparent experience for all parties involved in the closing. “Our partnership with Snapdocs further validates our work to create a solution that’s open to innovation, and empowers our joint customers to adopt the technology and tools they need to grow in any type of market,” said Mary Kay Theriault, Director of Product Management at Finastra. “We’ve long admired Snapdocs’ work to redefine the mortgage experience and streamline what has traditionally been a very manual and labor-intensive process. This integration will only accelerate the move to digital mortgage closings and create a more efficient, secure, and transparent process for all participants.” About Snapdocs Snapdocs is the mortgage industry's leading digital closing platform. Powering millions of closings each year, Snapdocs combines an open platform, patented AI technology, an extensive settlement network, and a team of industry experts to ensure digital closing success. Our proven approach enables market-leading lenders and title companies to automate the closing process and turn it into a competitive advantage. Using Snapdocs, lenders and title companies close more loans at lower costs while delivering the modern, referral-worthy digital experience borrowers expect. For more information, please visit www.snapdocs.com. About Finastra Finastra is a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, and launched the leading open platform for innovation, FusionFabric.cloud, in 2017. It serves institutions of all sizes, providing award-winning solutions and services across Lending, Payments, Treasury & Capital Markets and Universal Banking (Retail, Digital and Commercial Banking) for banks to support direct banking relationships and grow through indirect channels, such as embedded finance and Banking as a Service. Its pioneering approach and commitment to open finance and collaboration is why it is trusted by ~8,600 institutions, including 90 of the world’s top 100 banks. For more information, visit finastra.com. About Trustmark Corporation Trustmark Corporation is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, with locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. Visit www.trustmark.com for more information.

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REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT

America First Credit Union to Offer Instant Home Equity Through FirstClose™

PRnewswire | May 10, 2023

FirstClose, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that America First Credit Union selected its FirstClose Equity™ solution to provide members access to a digital end-to-end home equity product that delivers a best-in-class experience and dramatically cuts down loan application approval times. Industry analysis shows U.S. homeowners with mortgages have seen their equity increase by a total of $1 trillion since the fourth quarter of 2021, a gain of 7.3% year over year. While home equity lending is experiencing rapid growth, it continues to be a friction-filled process driving demand for a solution. America First is a Utah-based credit union with 120 branches across Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, and New Mexico, serving more than 1.3 million members, making it the 5th largest credit union in the country in terms of membership. Using FirstClose Equity, America First will be able to reduce the time to close from initial inquiry to as little as one week, versus the industry average of 45 to 60 days. "Our focus is always on our members, and our partnership with FirstClose supports our goal of delivering the best member and processor experience possible," said Austin Coleman, Senior Vice President of Mortgage Lending at America First Credit Union. FirstClose Equity makes home equity a low-friction lending experience that consumers have come to expect. Consumers have one experience via a private labeled POS and borrower portal. The application process itself is extremely streamlined. With the member's consent, FirstClose Equity collects and verifies asset and employment information. Even the few pieces of information that the member is required to provide can be uploaded through the platform. The decisioning engine delivers a firm decision on CLTV and pricing in approximately 5 to 7 minutes. "Because we absorb many of the fees for our members, efficiency at every stage of the origination process takes on greater importance, and automation on both sides of the transaction is key," said Coleman. "Through our integration with FirstClose, loan officers, underwriters, and processors never have to leave their LOS, which greatly increases our efficiency with home equity lending." Founded in 2000, FirstClose offers lenders a user-friendly home equity technology solution to lend more efficiently, faster, and at scale. "We are thrilled to be trusted with such an important role of helping fulfill America First Credit Union's mission to provide their members with a simple and streamlined home equity experience," said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer of FirstClose. "We are the category leader and are committed to advancing our technology so our customers, like America First, can focus on what matters most - their member's experience and improving their bottom line." About America First Credit Union Founded in 1939, and with a long-standing history of exceptional member service, America First Credit Union has become one of the largest, most stable, and most progressive credit unions in the country, and has remained a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative financial institution. Today, America First has 120 locations, and is the eighth largest credit union in assets in the United States with over $17 billion, and the fifth largest credit union in membership in America with more than 1.3 million members. For more information, visit americafirst.com. About FirstClose Headquartered in Austin, Texas, FirstClose, Inc. provides fintech solutions to HELOC and mortgage lenders nationwide. The company's mission is to increase profitability and reduce cost for mortgage lenders. FirstClose makes this possible through offering systems and relationships that enable lenders to assist the lender's borrowers more effectively, reduce closing costs, and ultimately shorten closing times. For more information, visit firstclose.com.

Read More

REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, MORTGAGE AND LENDING

SeeCares announces partnership with Northmarq; implements AI technology to accelerate loan quote process

PRnewswire | May 03, 2023

SeeCares, the world's premier artificial intelligence (AI) technology platform for streamlining commercial real estate financing workflows, announced today its strategic partnership with leading U.S. commercial real estate services firm Northmarq. Northmarq is incorporating SeeCares technology to significantly reduce the processing time to prepare and deliver loan quotes. Lowering that time from days or weeks to a few minutes enables Northmarq to provide an even greater speed of service for their clients. "With 7,000+ loans serviced, and $37B in deal volume annually, Northmarq is truly an industry leader and we're thrilled to be partnering together," said Moshe Yeli, CEO of SeeCares. "Their commitment to adopting AI in streamlining processes will ultimately put them at the industry forefront, and we're excited to help them reach more deals, at the best terms, more quickly." The SeeCares platform will leverage data analytics compiled from hundreds of data sources, making them accessible and usable via AI technology. As a result, Northmarq's unique models will be filled with relevant market data to produce loan quotes within minutes. "The SeeCares technology is revolutionizing this process at Northmarq, which will enable us to harness data and automation to streamline this strategic area of our business," said Jay Donaldson, president—Fannie Mae and FHA at Northmarq. "We look forward to continue collaborating with the SeeCares team and believe that harnessing data and automation to get clients smarter quotes faster will allow Northmarq to beat the experience and terms of any other commercial real estate lender in the market." About SeeCares SeeCares empowers CRE lenders, seller services, mortgage brokers, and sponsors to scale their business 10x faster using end-to-end underwriting automation and data aggregation. With SeeCares CRE stakeholders are able to optimize their analysis process and offer best-in-class service to their clients with instant loan quotes and credit memos. For more information, visit https://seecares.com. About Northmarq Northmarq is a full-service capital markets resource for commercial real estate investors, offering seamless collaboration with top experts in debt, equity, investment sales and loan servicing. We combine industry-leading capabilities with a flexible structure, enabling our national team of experienced professionals to create innovative solutions for clients. Our solid foundation and entrepreneurial approach have built an annual transaction volume of more than $37 billion and a loan servicing portfolio of nearly $76 billion. Through the 2022 acquisition of Stan Johnson Company and Four Pillars Capital Markets, Northmarq introduces clients to expanded opportunities across all major asset classes. For more information, visit www.Northmarq.com.

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