U.S. pending home sales rise 2.4% in February

Housing Wire | March 31, 2020

Pending home sales in February rose 2.4% from the prior month, the second consecutive increase, according to a report Tuesday from the National Association of Realtors. February’s reading shows the health of the housing market prior to the coronavirus-induced shutdown, said Lawerence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. According to Yun, February’s data does not capture the significant fallout from the pandemic, or the measures taken to control the outbreak. Numbers in the coming weeks will show just how hard the housing market was hit, but I am optimistic that the upcoming stimulus package will lessen the economic damage and we may get a V-shaped robust recovery later in the year,” Yun said. The COVID-19 pandemic likely will result in houses sitting on the market for longer periods as Americans are ordered to stay at home, he said.

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TurboTenant launches feature leveraging artificial intelligence to write rental property listings

PR News Wire | August 31, 2023

As the race to maximize AI across nearly every industry continues, TurboTenant, the leading all-in-one landlord software, recently launched a feature that harnesses AI to allow landlords to craft their rental listings. Powered by OpenAI, this new tool simplifies one of rental property management's most significant challenges. When landlords enter basic property information, TurboTenant's AI Property Description personalizes a captivating listing description in less than five seconds. Leveraging open-source data to pull in unique qualities that appeal to today's renters, the AI professionalizes listing descriptions and streamlines the marketing process to find quality tenants. Plus, this AI is trained to comply with the Fair Housing Act — a major win for landlords everywhere. "Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT are like magic. You ask AI to do something, and the tool easily completes your task," said Max O'Rourke, Senior Product Manager at TurboTenant. "That's a big reason we built the AI Property Description feature with OpenAI — we want our landlords to feel like magicians when they create a new listing." The free AI Property Description feature is the latest update to TurboTenant's versatile rental property management platform. Listings are a landlord's first chance to catch potential tenants' eyes, and this latest feature simplifies the process significantly. According to a recent Forbes Advisory survey, over 64% of businesses report AI increases their productivity. AI Property Description is just one of the many features TurboTenant has launched to streamline, professionalize, and simplify the administrative side of being a landlord. "Harnessing the power of AI for property description and listing title generation is just the tip of the iceberg," said O'Rourke. "Building a feature like this is just another example of TurboTenant's commitment to innovation and better serving our users." About TurboTenant Built by landlords for landlords, TurboTenant empowers independent property managers at every step of the rental process. More than 550,000 independent landlords nationwide enjoy TurboTenant's free, all-in-one online property management solutions. Features offered by TurboTenant include rental applications, tenant screening, property marketing, rent payments, lease agreements, and rent reporting.

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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.

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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.

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