Hometap Raises $100M to Expand Nationally, Invest in Residential Real Estate

Boston-based homeownership investment startup Hometap raised $100 million in a new round of funding. The financing was led by ICONIQ Capital, with participation from current investors: General Catalyst, G20, Pillar and American Family Ventures, the venture arm of AmFam Insurance. Hometap is led by co-founder Jeffry Glass, the former managing director at Bain Capital and co-founder of esports company, NRG eSports. The startup lends homeowners cash in exchange for an agreed-upon percentage of the future value of their home.

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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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JPAR Meets Consumer Demand for Floor Plans in Real Estate Listings with CubiCasa Partnership

PR Newswire | October 17, 2023

JPAR, a leading name in real estate, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with CubiCasa, a pioneer in floor plan technology. The partnership marks one of CubiCasa's first partnerships with a residential real estate brand. The companies have joined in executing a vision to bring a floor plan to every listing. In a survey by the National Association of REALTORS®, it was revealed that 67% of home buyers consider floor plans "very useful" in their property search, yet this essential feature is often overlooked in listings. Following photos and listing data, a floor plan is the most coveted data asset for consumers. "We want every interaction with one of our agents and listings to be a quality experience for consumers. This partnership empowers our sales professionals to meet the demands of modern buyers by providing them with the information they need to make some of the largest decisions in their lives," said Daniel Butbul, VP of Operations at JPAR's Affiliated Network. "Our goal is to have floor plans available on 90% of JPAR listings by the end of 2024," added Butbul. Effective immediately, agents may now register for a JPAR-sponsored CubiCasa account, accessible through the JPAR® OneStop HUB. "It's incredibly exciting to work with JPAR® on this project. They share our vision of a better real estate search experience powered by floor plans being attached to every listing, and our technology is the world's single-easiest and most-scalable solution to creating floor plans," according to Jeff Allen, President, CubiCasa. The CubiCasa app streamlines the process of creating floor plans for listings, requiring just 5-10 minutes to scan the property using almost any mobile device. Agents can then upload the scan on-site or at their convenience. CubiCasa's advanced AI technology transforms the scan into a professional-grade floor plan, which is delivered within 6-24 hours, available with and without measurements. About JPAR - Real Estate JPAR – Real Estate is a full-service real estate brand and franchise platform offering a highly competitive transaction fee-based model and agent-centric culture. The JPAR® platform provides agents seven (7) days-per-week support, a comprehensive tech stack, marketing, lead generation, training, and mentoring. JPAR® affiliated owners benefit from compliance review, 1-on-1 consulting, recruiting support, and a peer network of influential industry leaders. The company boasts more than 4,000 agents operating in 65 offices across 27 states, Washington, D.C. and closes over $8B annually in sales volume. About CubiCasa Headquartered in Oulu, Finland, CubiCasa is the global market leader in mobile indoor scanning and is known for its fast and easy-to-use floor plan app on the App Store and Google Play Store. CubiCasa's technology is used in 160 different countries and has helped create over 1 million floor plans to date. CubiCasa provides technology for the real estate, appraisal, and mortgage industries and is on a mission to digitize real estate.

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Capital Square and ITOCHU Corporation Announce Partnership to Acquire Build-for-Rent Community in Texas

PR Newswire | October 10, 2023

Capital Square, one of the nation's leading sponsors of tax-advantaged real estate investments and an active developer and manager of housing communities, announced today the formation of a joint venture partnership with ITOCHU Corporation to acquire Creekside Terrace, a 100-unit build-for-rent (BFR) single-family community currently being developed by Pulte Homes, the third largest home builder in the country. ITOCHU Corporation is one of the largest Japanese sogo shoshaa, or general trading and investment companies, founded in Japan in 1858. According to the 2023 Fortune Global 500 list, ITOCHU is the 96th largest company in the world, with annual revenue in excess of $103 billion.1 "Capital Square is thrilled to partner with one of the largest corporations in the world to acquire Creekside Terrace, a build-for-rent community near San Antonio, Texas," said Louis Rogers, founder and co-chief executive officer of Capital Square. Creekside Terrace is a 100-unit purpose-built single-family BFR rental community, located just minutes from Interstate 35. Part of an exceptional master-planned development of new homes, the community features a pool, pavilion and park with convenient access to nearby shopping and dining. These three- and four-bedroom, open-concept homes offer upscale interiors and contemporary amenities for growing families in the burgeoning New Braunfels, San Antonio area. The community will provide a high-quality rental housing option to the almost 19,000 new residents who moved to San Antonio last year. "Capital Square continues to invest in the acquisition and development of build-for-rent communities throughout Texas and the Sunbelt," said Dave Platter, managing director and co‑head of private equity at Capital Square. "As a firm, we continue to source opportunities in the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. We believe Creekside Terrace will present a welcoming community for young families looking for the benefits of single-family living without the high costs and headaches associated with homeownership today." Build-for-rent communities, comprised of single-family homes purpose-built for renting, have become an increasingly popular asset class among institutions and individual investors. Demand for this rental option is growing exponentially among residents who seek a single-family lifestyle, the financial and leasing flexibility of a rental with the amenities and convenience of a professionally managed property. The U.S. has chronically underbuilt housing since the Great Financial Crisis and requires an additional 4.3 million housing units by 2035 to meet the demand for rental housing, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. Demand for build-for-rent homes continues to increase with professionally managed communities offering one of the best solutions for the shortage of quality, affordable housing. Institutionally owned and operated build-for-rent communities represent less than 5% of the overall U.S. housing stock, paving the way for long-term, sustainable growth for the asset class. "We are pleased to partner with Capital Square on Creekside Terrace and look forward to working with Capital Square on future acquisitions," said Hideyuki Matsukawa, senior vice president and general manager of general product and realty division at ITOCHU International Inc. Since its formation in 2012, Capital Square has raised more than $3 billion in equity from investors for its tax-advantaged real estate investment offerings. The company has consistently ranked as one of the leading sponsors of Delaware statutory trust (DST) investment programs for investors seeking the advantages of Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 exchanges and is also an active sponsor of qualified opportunity zone funds, development LLCs and Capital Square Apartment REIT, a real estate investment trust that invests in multifamily communities throughout the Southeast. About Capital Square Capital Square is a vertically integrated national real estate firm specializing in tax-advantaged real estate investments, including Delaware statutory trusts for Section 1031 exchanges, qualified opportunity zone funds for tax deferral and exclusion and a real estate investment trust (REIT). In recent years the company has become an active developer of mixed-use multifamily properties in the southeastern U.S., with eight current projects totaling approximately 2,000 apartment units with a total development cost in excess of $600 million. Since 2012, Capital Square has completed more than $7.5 billion in transaction volume. Capital Square's related entities provide a range of services, including due diligence, acquisition, loan sourcing, property/asset management and disposition, for a growing number of high-net-worth investors, private equity firms, family offices and institutional investors. Since 2017, Capital Square has been recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest growing companies in the nation for seven consecutive years. In 2017, 2018 and 2020, the company was also ranked on Richmond BizSense's list of fastest growing companies.

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