U.S. New Home Sales Rise in March

National Association of Home Builders | April 24, 2019

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, sales of newly built, single-family homes in the U.S. rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 692,000 units in March 2019. This is the highest sales pace since November 2017.  "These numbers indicate that builders who can produce housing at affordable price points will experience sales growth," said Greg Ugalde, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. "However, builders are still dealing with a shortage of construction workers and buildable lots, which limits housing affordability."

Spotlight

Spotlight

Related News

Real Estate Technology, Real Estate Investment

SouthPoint Financial Services Creates New Real Estate Division Powered By Newzip

PRnewswire | July 27, 2023

SouthPoint Financial Services (SPFS), a full-service mortgage lender operating in 16 states, today announced a partnership with Newzip, a tech-enabled real estate solutions platform. Newzip brings seamless, RESPA-compliant real estate services to SPFS, matching pre-approved borrowers with experienced agents to find homes then providing cash rewards when SPFS borrowers close on home purchases. Here's how the new SPFS Preferred Partners Program powered by Newzip works: SPFS customers can now receive real estate advice tailored to their needs from a dedicated Newzip Home Advisor team that helps them throughout their entire home search, offer-writing, transaction, closing, and moving process. Once SPFS pre-approves a customer for a home purchase loan, Newzip's advanced algorithms and data analytics match home buyers with the most suitable real estate agents across their national network of trusted professionals. When SPFS mortgage customers opt into this program, they can save 1% on the sell side and 0.5% on the buy side as a closing credit decreasing their required cash-to-close in rebate eligible states. Throughout the home buying and financing process, the Newzip platform keeps SPFS loan officers, borrowers, Newzip home advisors, and real estate agents seamlessly connected. "Adding Newzip real estate services and technology to SouthPoint Financial's fast, friendly mortgage team creates a one-stop shop for our home-buying customers," said SouthPoint Financial Services CEO Mindy Rothenberger. "This partnership helps us double down on our mission to remove all barriers of home ownership and solve all the mysteries of home lending and buying. It adds personalized guidance at every step, giving our customers a confident, informed home buying journey from start to finish." The SPFS/Newzip partnership is a shared commitment to innovation and customer-centric solutions, delivering a seamless, efficient, cost-saving journey to homebuyers across America. "Integrating Newzip's platform into SPFS's mortgage experience will not only elevate the home buying/selling experience, but also makes it more affordable for borrowers in this challenging market," said Newzip CEO Adi Pavlovic. "We're thrilled to power real estate services for SPFS and innovate together in the mortgage industry." About Newzip Newzip is a real estate platform that empowers mortgage lenders to deliver an end-to-end customer experience. Leveraging a combination of technology and human empathy, Newzip's vision is to create the standard for a modern real estate experience that helps people make informed decisions throughout their entire journey. About SouthPoint Financial Services SouthPoint Financial Services (SPFS) is a full-service, Georgia-based mortgage lender offering government-backed and conventional loans. SPFS is one of the few mortgage lenders that handle every step of the process with in-house processing, underwriting, and document preparation. SPFS's mission is to remove all barriers to homeownership, answer all the questions, and solve all the mysteries of home lending.

Read More

Real Estate Technology, Mortgage and Lending

FirstClose™ Equity's Settlement Services Order Management Module Now Integrated with Calyx Point®

PRnewswire | July 26, 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 settlement services ordering module within FirstClose Equity is now integrated with Calyx Software's Point® loan origination system. Through the integration, Point users can seamlessly originate HELOCs and home equity loans within their LOS and complete the application through the closing process faster than the industry average of 45 to 60 days. FirstClose's one-of-a-kind home equity solution reduces operational touchpoints to elevate the overall customer experience for borrowers. It also enables lenders to automate data collection, verification, and settlement services ordering. FirstClose's order management module is currently used by more than 200 lenders nationwide to automate back-office manual processes. FirstClose's one-click ordering technology with the ability to modify settlement providers will enable Calyx Point lenders to reduce risk, grow their overall business, and position themselves better for continued growth and success in this surging home equity market. "As a customer-first company, we are always looking to offer our lenders access to like-minded companies that provide simple solutions to real-world challenges our customers face," said Juan Villegas, Director of National Sales at Calyx Software. "We're proud to be integrated with FirstClose and to be able to help our clients streamline their home equity lending operations." "Mortgage rates are rising; homeowners are staying in their homes longer and they are in a much better financial position than ever before. All these pieces point to HELOCs and HELs as the right products for the times," said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer at FirstClose. "Having our order management module within Point will give Calyx users a simple and efficient way to capitalize on this growing market opportunity and stand out amongst the crowd by offering a significantly enhanced customer experience." About Calyx Calyx® is an established provider of compliant mortgage software solutions used by banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, and brokerages nationwide. The company's easy-to-use technology, including its online borrower interview, loan origination systems and secure electronic signature software, is designed to streamline, integrate and optimize all phases of the loan process for customers of various sizes, workflows, channels and complexities. Combined with its extensive network of integrated partners, Calyx products deliver a true digital mortgage solution that maximizes profitability and enhances the customer experience. 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.

Read More

Real Estate Investment

PIONEERING REAL-ESTATE TECH COMPANY MODWELL & CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE PARTNER TO PUT MODERN SELLING TOOLS IN THE HANDS OF TOP AGENTS

PRnewswire | August 08, 2023

Modwell, the design technology company transforming how the $4 trillion dollar global realty market buys, sells and lists properties, and Christie's International Real Estate, today announced a first-of-its kind partnership that will provide top agents of the world's leading high-value real estate brand with access to its game-changing suite of real estate listings solutions. The partnership between the two companies will give 50 of Christie's International Real Estate's Masters Circle agents – the highest grossing agents across the brand's U.S. network – the ability to leverage Modwell's proprietary and patented tech-based design platform in order to showcase home listings in an unprecedented, modernized fashion, drive sales and help future buyers envision the full potential of any home, apartment or property lot. The Modwell infrastructure is even flexible enough to accommodate developer-ready parcels. Specifically, these Christie's International Real Estate Masters Circle agents, representing 39 luxury markets across at least 15 states, will be able to access Modwell's suite of solutions including: Enhanced Listings. Which takes an existing property and applies 3D scanning and modeling technology in order to reimagine and fully realize the untapped design potential of any property's interior and exterior. From there, agents will be able to share design exhibits via their own user profile directly to their network of clients in order to sell more, faster. Next Gen 3D Showrooms. Modwell's virtual "warehouse" that curates a highly individual aggregated listings experience for real-estate professionals and their organizations. These digital showrooms are designed so that agents can showcase featured properties and attach their personal showrooms to Modwell's larger Masterbrand Showroom. Consumer Home Vaults. Created to supercharge referrals (which make up 82% of agent revenues in the U.S.), this interactive solution gives agents an opportunity to maintain more meaningful relationships with their clients over the lifetime of their home ownership. Clients are invited onto Modwell's platform in order to fully document their home by uploading their surveys, floor plans, 3D models and more into a purpose-built design hub. "We're thrilled to be able to work with an esteemed brand like Christie's International Real Estate. Technology has enabled consumers to change how they live their lives – from how they communicate, to what, when and how they connect with content, to how they purchase goods and services. While home buying should be no different, and 97% of consumers use online tools when buying a home, listings have remained legacy based. Modwell is changing that paradigm through advanced technology and we're excited that Christie's International Real Estate's top agents will be able to leverage our platform in a way we think will help them sell more," said Jonathan Reisman, Co-Founder, Modwell. "Christie's International Real Estate has a rich and storied history as a market leader and a lot of that has to do with continually giving our agents innovative ways to engage with potential clients. Our program with Modwell continues that high standard and we're excited to get their technology into the hands of our top agents in order to drive a more efficient and interactive process," said Thad Wong, co-CEO of Christie's International Real Estate. In under a year, Modwell has disrupted an industry stuck in legacy models, creating the highest fidelity 3D technology to power a better overall real estate experience for both buyers and sellers across a varied array of industry verticals and segments. The company was selected for the prestigious Moderne Ventures' Passport Program, a six-month industry immersion program that catalyzes the growth of its companies by offering its participants education, mentorship, and pilot opportunities with new customers via access and exposure to Moderne's Network of real estate – and real estate adjacent – industry leaders. The program is highly selective with the Moderne Ventures team evaluating over 4,500 companies a year, but selecting on average 6 to 10 companies per class. In February, the company's technology was prominently featured in the Bravo hit "Million Dollar Listings'' and, more recently, it provided the technology behind a prominent Robb Report listing and article. About Christie's International Real Estate Christie's International Real Estate has successfully marketed high-value real estate around the world for more than 30 years. Through its invitation-only Affiliate network spanning nearly 50 countries and territories, Christie's International Real Estate offers incomparable services to a global clientele at the luxury end of the residential property market. About Modwell Modwell is a design tech company whose first-of-its-kind collaborative platform and tools empower agents and buyers to modernize their real estate experience. While other industries have evolved to match our 21st century lifestyles and preferences, real estate has stayed relatively the same. Modwell was founded in 2020 by architecture and marketing veterans who not only set out to close that gap but who have a clear vision for where real estate is going as the world embraces virtual realities.

Read More