Real Estate Technology
FOREWARN | August 28, 2023
FOREWARN, LLC, a red violet company and the leading provider of real-time information solutions for real estate agents, today announced that Space Coast Association of REALTORS® (“SCAR”) has contracted to make FOREWARN® services available for the 6,000+ members they serve throughout Brevard County and the Space Coast to promote proactive real estate agent safety.
Available both online and through a mobile application, FOREWARN analyzes billions of data points and provides users with the ability to mitigate risks by verifying identity, searching for criminal histories, and validating information provided by potential clients -- using just a phone number. FOREWARN allows agents to properly and safely plan for showings with a higher level of confidence.
The FOREWARN services purchased by SCAR are available to the 6,000+ real estate agent membership at no additional cost to individual members.
“We were looking for a solution that would help our members protect themselves well ahead of being in a potentially dangerous situation, and FOREWARN was the clear choice,” said Nancy Bartlett, President of Space Coast Association of REALTORS®. “It will equip our members to verify the identity of their unknown prospects in seconds, helping to address concerns around physical safety as well as possible fraud.”
Lindsey Ruschak, CEO of Space Coast Association of REALTORS®, went on to say, “We’re thrilled to be able to offer this product as a benefit of membership with Space Coast Association of REALTORS®, the launch is timely with REALTOR® Safety Month being recognized in September.” Existing SCAR members will receive specific instructions on how to move forward with activating their FOREWARN subscription.
About FOREWARN
At FOREWARN, we bring instant knowledge through innovative solutions to ensure safer engagements and smarter interactions. Leveraging powerful analytics and a massive data repository, our solutions enable organizations to gain real-time knowledge, for purposes such as verifying identity, searching for criminal histories, and validating information. Risk assessment and due diligence at your fingertips™.
About red violet
At red violet, we build proprietary technologies and apply analytical capabilities to deliver identity intelligence. Our technology powers critical solutions, which empower organizations to operate with confidence. Our solutions enable the real-time identification and location of people, businesses, assets and their interrelationships. These solutions are used for purposes including risk mitigation, due diligence, fraud detection and prevention, regulatory compliance, and customer acquisition. Our intelligent platform, CORE™, is purpose-built for the enterprise, yet flexible enough for organizations of all sizes, bringing clarity to massive datasets by transforming data into intelligence. Our solutions are used today to enable frictionless commerce, to ensure safety, and to reduce fraud and the concomitant expense borne by society.
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Real Estate Technology, Mortgage and Lending
PRnewswire | August 01, 2023
Clever Real Estate, the fast-growing real estate technology company, has launched Clever Pro, a new all-in-one solution that empowers mortgage lenders to drive higher profits and provide more value to borrowers.
Clever Pro will initially consist of five fully-integrated products that deliver the data, insights, and relationships lenders need to maximize performance and drive sustainable growth:
Pro Convert helps lenders boost conversion rates with less work and no added cost. Clever matches borrowers with top 1% Realtors from its industry-leading network of 19,000 agents. Clever's Lender-Certified Agents work with the loan officer to deliver a superior customer experience, increasing close rates and revenue per lead.
Pro Connect gives lenders more control over their entire pipeline. Clever captures real-time status updates and feedback from all parties so loan officers are more efficient and responsive. This information is prioritized in Clever's Loan Officer Portal and the lender's CRM, so nothing slips through the cracks.
Pro Search lets borrowers browse homes, get listing alerts, and schedule viewings entirely within the lender's branded ecosystem. This gives loan officers better visibility while keeping them, and their key value props, top of mind for clients across their home shopping journey.
Pro Insights surfaces real-time loan officer performance data to help teams identify what's working and what needs to improve. Fully-configurable dashboards let lenders monitor KPIs in real-time for better campaign forecasting, as well as targeted sales coaching and lead routing.
Pro Amplify turns every win into high-impact marketing collateral that helps lenders generate more business. Every closing and piece of positive feedback is repackaged into personalized (and compliant) content loan officers can share on social media to boost their brand.
"Our team has built something truly groundbreaking," said Tony Chahal, SVP of Clever Pro. "Clever Pro solves so many longstanding problems for lenders that hinder profitability and growth. We're giving them trusted partners in every market nationwide, plus technology to manage the entire buyer journey, all within a single unified ecosystem. And we're just getting started — more features are already on the way!"
Clever Pro arrives hot on the heels of Clever's latest funding round, in which it raised an additional $2 million from strategic investors, including Cultivation Capital, EssentVentures LLC, and real estate tech strategist Mike DelPrete. Clever was recently named the number-one real estate company on Trustpilot and one of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest by Inc.com.
About Clever Real Estate
Clever's educational real estate content reaches over 10 million readers annually, and its nationwide agent matching service has a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 2,300+ customer reviews. Since launching in 2017, Clever has reached $8.5 billion in real estate sold, matched 100,000+ customers with realtors, and saved consumers over $150 million on commission fees. Clever hit profitability (and new record sales) in May 2023.
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Market Outlook, Real Estate Investment
Businesswire | July 06, 2023
Workspace Property Trust (Workspace), the preeminent US suburban commercial office property owner and partner for the Fortune 1000, announced today that it successfully modified and extended its approximately $1.3 billion CMBS facility, securing a two-year extension for loans supported by its nearly 10 million square foot portfolio of 146 suburban office and light industrial, R&D and flex industrial properties in 14 major metropolitan markets across the US. In additional to this portfolio, Workspace owns an additional nine million Class A square feet of commercial office portfolio across 59 properties in the US.
The successful refinancing of this Workspace’s Class A portfolio is a major accomplishment in one of the most difficult commercial real estate and capital market environments in decades and reflects the strength, experience and operating performance of the Workspace management team. Iron Hound Management Company LLC served as financial advisor to Workspace.
Workspace Strengthens Its Balance Sheet To Invest in Growth
“We are thrilled to have successfully modified and extended our $1.3 billion CMBS facility with a two-year extension and significant equity participation,” said Thomas A. Rizk, co-founder and CEO of Workspace. “Getting this deal done in what many have described as the most challenging real estate market in decades was no small feat and is testament to the underlying strength of our portfolio, the resilience of the suburban office sector, the promise of our pipeline and the capabilities of Workspace’s vertically integrated national platform. With the strengthening of our balance sheet, we are now in the enviable position of driving growth by investing in our leasing operations and deploying state-of-the-market enhancements in key market locations as we double down on the opportunities in the suburbs. We appreciate the support of our lenders, partners and investors and are focused on the tremendous opportunities in front of us.”
Workspace owns and operates suburban office buildings in 14 of the top 20 US metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Philadelphia, Dallas, Charlotte, Tampa, Phoenix, Silicon Valley, South Florida, Houston, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago and St. Louis. Approximately 40% of the Fortune 500 have headquarters in Workspace markets and nearly seven million square feet of the Workspace portfolio is leased by companies included in the Fortune 1000.
Workspace Suburban Markets Outperform Central Business Districts
In addition to the financing news, Workspace also released the findings of a recently conducted analysis of national real estate data that highlight the meaningful outperformance of suburban commercial office markets over downtown commercial office locations. The data set, compiled for Workspace by CBRE Strategic Investment Consulting, a global leader in commercial real estate services and investments, underscores the strength, vitality and energy of suburban office markets as employers across the country reinvent how and where people work today.
At the national level—and in key markets driving US economic growth— suburban office submarkets have outperformed central business district submarkets during each of the past three economic downturns, with smaller declines in rent growth and absorption rates and much steadier vacancy rates. This pattern has been particularly pronounced since the onset of COVID-19 and is leading to a fundamental reset in how corporate America is thinking about where and how their people should work. Based on the CBRE data, this resiliency is largely expected to persist through the current cycle, as many suburban locations continue to benefit from a rising number of occupiers and employees prioritizing the value of working closer to home.
“Workspace Property Trust is differentiated by our proven core strategy – to provide innovative and responsive real estate solutions to the Fortune 1000 in fast-growing, highly desirable suburban commercial markets across the country,” said Roger W. Thomas, co-founder, President and COO of Workspace. “In the last year, we transformed our business by doubling our footprint to more than 19 million square feet of commercial and light industrial assets in some of the most vibrant markets in the US, offering our customers lifestyle oriented, community-based working environments that are fundamental requisites for corporations today. The CBRE data we are highlighting today is a clear and resounding affirmation that today’s most progressive companies – large and small – are investing in suburban markets, reversing decades of legacy thinking.”
Mr. Rizk further stated, “New patterns of work and new demands by our tenants and their employees directly translate into the need for new long-term real estate innovation. We know the biggest single issue for our tenant partners is reducing the commuting time for their employees, allowing them to spend more time with their families. Our commitment to service and convenience and relentlessly focusing on delivering on our promise of “Work. Life. Balanced.” has solidified our partnerships with a number of Fortune 1000 organizations as they double down on their suburban footprints, investing significant dollars and resources in the lives of their team members. When Roger and I started Workspace, suburban office was a contrarian bet. The CBRE data validates what we’ve been experiencing on the ground over the last few years coming out of the pandemic: suburban office is benefitting from a foundational demographic shift to suburban submarkets in gateway metropolitan areas across the country where the quality of the work experience is the defining factor in leasing decisions.”
Suburban Markets Outperformance: National and Local Metrics
Nationally, suburban commercial office outperformed central business district commercial office in several key metrics, including vacancy, net absorption and rent growth. In 2022:
By year-end, the national vacancy rate for suburban office was 17.2% vs. 17.6% for central business districts, the first time the suburban rate has been tighter since 1989.
On net, the amount of suburban office space absorbed by occupiers in 2022 was equivalent to 0.3% of total suburban inventory. Meanwhile, downtown space was put back on the market (negative net absorption) at an amount equivalent to 0.2% of downtown inventory.
Year-over-year rent growth in the suburbs was a full percentage point higher than in central business districts -- 1.6% vs. 0.6%.
Additionally, when ranking U.S. suburban office markets across a variety of performance metrics, every Workspace market was represented within the top 15 for at least one metric, with several markets ranking in the top 15 multiple times. For example, over the past two years (Q4 2020 – Q4 2022):
Fort Lauderdale and Miami tied for the sixth-highest increase in post-pandemic rent growth among all suburban office markets, with asking rent increases of 1.7% in both markets.
Charlotte and Phoenix tied as the 11th highest in rent growth, with increases of 0.8% in both markets.
San Jose ranked second for the most square feet of suburban office space absorbed and seventh for absorption as a share of total inventory.
Other Workspace markets appearing in the top 15 for one or both of these absorption metrics were Chicago, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami.
Based on forecasts for the next two years (Q4 2022 – Q4 2024):
Workspace markets represented five out of the top eight suburban markets with the strongest near-term rent growth projections.
These markets include Milwaukee, Phoenix, Houston, Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Dallas was the third-highest ranking market for the expected gap between the suburban and central business district vacancy rate – 22.4% in the Dallas suburbs vs 27.1% in the Dallas CBD.
Other Workspace markets in the top 15 across this metric include Seattle, Houston, Kansas City, St. Louis, Fort Lauderdale and Minneapolis.
About Workspace Property Trust
Workspace Property Trust is a privately held, vertically integrated, full-service commercial real estate company specializing in the ownership, management, leasing and development of office and light industrial, R&D and flex space across the US. Founded in 2015, as combined Workspace owns and operates approximately 19 million square feet of suburban office and light industrial, R&D, Flex (IRDF) properties in markets across the country, including 14 of the top 20 US metropolitan areas. For more information on Workspace, please visit www.workspaceproperty.com
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