First LGB Home Buyers and Sellers Report Released by NAR

WORLD PROPERTY JOURNAL | June 07, 2019

In recognition of June being national LGBT Pride Month, the National Association of Realtors has recently released its first-ever Profile of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Buyers and Sellers. The report, which utilizes four years of data from NAR's Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, analyses the differences between LGB and other buyers and sellers. The report found that all groups - those identifying LGB and heterosexual - were most likely to purchase real estate because of a desire to own their own home. "The American Dream of homeownership traverses across the spectrum of our society - including sexual orientation - and Realtors always have and will continue to advocate so that anyone who wants to, and is capable of purchasing a home, is able to do so," said NAR President John Smaby. "Realtors have always embraced the significance of the protections secured by the Fair Housing Act, and have encouraged efforts to extend them by amending our Code of Ethics in 2009 to prohibit discriminations based on sexual orientation and gender identity."

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Real Estate Technology

Peachtree Group Announces New Brand Positioning and Logo

Peachtree Group | September 21, 2023

Peachtree Group, an investment firm with a diverse portfolio of commercial real estate assets, announced a refreshed corporate brand position to showcase better the company's fully integrated investment and service platforms. Accompanying the new brand position is a powerful new tagline, ‘Guided by Intuition, Grounded by Expertise.’ This succinct expression captures the essence of Peachtree Group's approach to investment strategies. The firm combines its intuitive understanding of commercial real estate with the wisdom of years of experience to make informed decisions that drive growth and deliver exceptional results. "Our dedication to branding has empowered us to maintain a competitive advantage in attracting top-tier talent, ensuring we consistently have the finest minds and skills to navigate a rapidly evolving business landscape," said Greg Friedman, Peachtree Group's CEO and managing principal. "Furthermore, our strategic branding approach, focused on unifying our extensive range of businesses, is positioned to unlock even more of the untapped potential within our investment platform. This platform, which has already demonstrated its value in the hospitality sector, has been instrumental in our successful expansion and diversification into other real estate sectors and ventures." The company has consolidated all affiliated brands under the Peachtree Group umbrella. This change unifies the Company's diverse portfolio of brands, including Stonehill and Peachtree Hospitality Management, into Peachtree Group Credit and Peachtree Group Hospitality Management, respectively. "By bringing the company's brands together, we aim to leverage our collective strengths, streamline our operations and provide an enhanced experience for our valued partners," Friedman said. Alongside the rebranding, Peachtree Group has unveiled a new logo that combines the simplified representation of a tree with the capital letter P letterform. It succinctly champions the company's roots and remarkable growth it achieved since its inception in 2007, driven by deep expertise and strategic foresight. "The introduction of our refreshed brand position and logo marks an exciting new chapter in Peachtree Group's journey," said Jatin Desai, Peachtree Group's CFO and managing principal. "The consolidation of our affiliated companies under one unified name reflects our commitment to delivering a seamless and cohesive experience to all our stakeholders. Our new tagline embodies the balance of our innovative vision and the profound expertise that underpins our success." About Peachtree Group Peachtree Group is an investment firm driving growth with a diverse portfolio of commercial real estate assets and other ventures. The company has executed hundreds of investments since its inception, focusing on real estate acquisition, development and lending valued at $9.0 billion in total market capitalization. Today, Peachtree manages over $2.5 billion in equity, augmented by services designed to protect, support and grow its investments.

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Brokerage, Real Estate Investment

Rental Beast and Southwest MLS Join Forces to Ignite Albuquerque's Rental Market Revolution

Businesswire | July 20, 2023

Rental Beast, a leading real estate technology firm, is thrilled to announce a groundbreaking platform integration with Southwest MLS today. Ranked 10th nationwide as a hotspot for sellers, the Albuquerque housing market continues to boom despite a shortage in housing supply. As home values remain high, prospective homebuyers are shifting their focus to the rental market. In fact, each rental property in Albuquerque receives an average of eight tenant applicants, creating a market that's ready for REALTORS® to showcase their expertise. Recognizing the demand for innovative solutions, the MLS is revolutionizing the rental market in Albuquerque through an exciting platform integration with Rental Beast. By providing its members with a comprehensive suite of tools, SWMLS empowers them to succeed in this fiercely competitive landscape. "The launch of Rental Beast and NMHomeRentals.com is an exciting development for consumers, REALTORS®, and landlords in Greater Albuquerque," said Tego Venturi, President of SWMLS, "This new platform creates a reliable marketplace for rental properties, increasing transparency in the rental process and helping protect renters from scams. SWMLS has long been the premier marketplace for the Albuquerque home sales market and this new platform will become the central source of truth for the rental market in the same way." The platform integration includes an array of features, including a rental-centric Add/Edit tool, access to valuable leads, third-party syndication to premier websites, an online application and tenant screening tool, powerful client management tools, and comprehensive training and support for SWMLS members to become experts in the rental market. "We are giving members the tools they need to thrive in this space," said Ishay Grinberg, CEO of Rental Beast. "Our integration equips SWMLS members with the cutting-edge tools and resources needed to navigate the dynamic rental market landscape, deliver exceptional service to their clients, and capitalize on the immense potential that the rental market presents." About Southwest MLS The Southwest MLS Inc, also known as SWMLS, is the top real estate information and data provider in New Mexico, offering services to Central New Mexico and includes coverage in Bernalillo, Valencia, Sandoval, Torrance, and the areas of Socorro and Santa Fe Counties. The Southwest MLS is headquartered in Albuquerque, NM and is committed to equipping its members with valuable products and services, promoting strong ethical and professional stands while also supporting private property rights. About the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® (GAAR) The voice for real estate in the Greater Albuquerque area, the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® (GAAR) represents the growing region of Central New Mexico, which includes Bernalillo, Valencia, Sandoval, Torrance, parts of Socorro, and Santa Fe Counties, and is recognized as the leading provider of real estate information services and data in New Mexico. Chartered in 1921 as the Real Estate Board of Albuquerque, GAAR today is the largest, local professional trade association in Central New Mexico, with 4,300 members pledged to uphold a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. GAAR is an association of professional REALTORS® who work cooperatively to advance the industry and actively support the communities and people they serve. About Rental Beast Rental Beast is a leading real estate technology firm with an end-to-end SaaS platform designed to empower real estate professionals and the nation's most comprehensive database of nearly eleven million rental properties. Sourced directly from property owners, updated in real-time, and offering a fulfillment-grade rental dataset, the Rental Beast database provides real estate professionals with an unparalleled view of all properties and owner types. Utilizing a seamless and secure integration, participating MLSs, and REALTOR® Associations can capture thousands of properties that are normally off-MLS inventory, and leverage essential search, data ingestion, and maintenance systems needed to help member agents and subscribers capture their share of $12 billion in annual leasing commissions. Rental Beast is recognized and supported by Second Century Ventures, the capital and strategic growth arm of the National Association of REALTORS® and is a proud member of the 2022 REACH-Canada program.

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Real Estate Technology, Mortgage and Lending

FirstClose™ Equity Now Integrated with Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology®

PRnewswire | July 21, 2023

FirstClose, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that its home equity origination platform—FirstClose Equity— is now integrated with Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology®, part of ICE, a global data, technology and market infrastructure company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity. Through the new integration, Encompass users can seamlessly originate home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and home equity loans (HELs) within their LOS and complete the application through closing process in as few as 10 days versus the industry average of 45 to 60 days. Encompass will continue to be the system of record because all data is secured through the LOS and stored there. Each call to action initiates a data map and an audit trail to Encompass. FirstClose's one-of-a-kind home equity solution reduces operational touchpoints to elevate the overall customer experience for borrowers. The solution also enables lenders to automate data collection, verification, and continue to order settlement services through FirstClose's existing order management module. "Home equity lending has become a go-to option for millions of homeowners and is expected to be a significant growth opportunity for the foreseeable future," said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer at FirstClose. "Our integration with ICE Mortgage's platform will give Encompass users a simple, efficient way to either enter this market or to differentiate themselves by significantly improving the customer experience that they are offering." The end-to-end platform was built modularly so lenders can implement one, two or all modules based on the approach that's right for their organization. Point of Sale (POS): A private-label borrower-facing point-of-sale solution with a unique borrower experience – single sign on, workflow, and customized branding including domain that gives consumers instant online feedback on their home valuation, available home equity, loan options and delivers credit decisions in minutes. (Borrower eligibility is determined by the credit score and CLTV.) Borrower Portal: A borrower portal that lets consumers provide consents, upload needed documents, interact with originators, select loan terms, and draw amounts. In parallel, the portal's backend is iframed into Encompass, so loan originators never leave their LOS and are rewarded with a consistent process and streamlined functionality including title decisioning via the lenders' business rules and a credit decision that leverages EPPS and Encompass' Dynamic Data Management (DDM) to deliver findings in minutes. Order Management: Automated workflows, including triggers enable the ordering of settlement services such as flood, title, valuation and more. Closing: An option to support hybrid closings and recordings that are compliant with state regulations and lender guidelines. "Our best-of-breed technology dramatically accelerates decision-making and connects lenders to a broad network of preferred providers with one contract, one bill and one support team," said Craig Austin, Executive Vice President at FirstClose. "Lenders currently originating home equity products can onboard in as fast as 30 days; while new entrants can onboard in as fast as 60 days enabling lenders to pivot and capitalize on the current market which is a bright spot for our industry." 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. About ICE Mortgage Technology ICE Mortgage Technology® is part of ICE, a global data, technology and market infrastructure company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity. Backed by ICE's global resources, we offer a truly differentiated digital platform that provides straight-through processing for a more comprehensive end-to-end workflow than any other provider in the market. We reach almost every mortgage in the U.S. by combining the native automation of Encompass® with the e-collaboration and e-recording capabilities of Simplifile®, along with the national electronic registry for nearly 90% of the U.S. mortgage market in MERS®. Ultimately, our technology enables people across the industry to focus on personal connections when they need it most, and support borrowers for a better journey of homeownership. About Intercontinental Exchange Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes that offer our customers access to mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and operational efficiencies. We operate exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, and clearing houses that help people invest, raise capital and manage risk across multiple asset classes. Our comprehensive fixed income data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers capitalize on opportunities and operate more efficiently. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming and digitizing the U.S. residential mortgage process, from consumer engagement through loan registration. Together, we transform, streamline and automate industries to connect our customers to opportunity.

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