Zillow Forecasts a Dip in Home Prices, Rebounding By Next Year

Zillow | May 04, 2020

Buyer demand and healthy housing-market dynamics will prevent U.S. home prices from dropping more than 2-3% -- or more than 1.7% year over year -- in the wake of the coronavirus, according to a forecast released today by Zillow®. The forecast says home sales will fall as much as 60% this spring and take through the end of next year to recover, while prices will fall through the year but recover a few months sooner. The recovery is likely to look like a checkmark, with transactions building at a pace of about 10% each month through the end of 2021, according to the forecast by Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell and her team of economists and analysts.

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Real Estate Technology

Flyhomes Enters Definitive Agreement to Acquire Assets from Home Sale Assured

Flyhomes | September 12, 2023

Flyhomes, creator of the world’s best home buying and selling experience, has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase certain assets from Innovative Holdings, LLC, doing business as Home Sale Assured, a leader in the field of ‘buy before you sell.’ Founded in early 2022 by Eric Meadow, Home Sale Assured’s flagship product is the Guaranteed Backup Contract, which empowers existing homeowners to buy their next home before closing on the sale of their current one. As part of the deal, Flyhomes will be acquiring the Home Sale Assured brand, and Meadow will be joining Flyhomes in a senior executive capacity where he’ll report to EVP of Mortgage & Closing, Dan Richards. “Eric is a seasoned mortgage professional who has built something really special with the Guaranteed Backup Contract,” said Tushar Garg, co-founder and CEO at Flyhomes. “Its ability to remove friction from the buying and selling process, while adding assurance, flexibility, and customer-centricity, aligns perfectly with our core tenants here at Flyhomes. This deal strengthens our offerings and gives us more tools to serve more customers looking for a better way to buy and sell a home.” Following the close of the deal, lender and realtor partners will be able to continue offering their customers access to the Guaranteed Backup Contract through the Home Sale Assured brand at Flyhomes. Understanding the importance of the customer-agent relationship, Guaranteed Backup Contract was designed to enhance the role of real estate agents and lenders. This ensures everyone moves in unison toward the common goals of seamlessly transitioning the customer into their new home and selling their prior home for maximum value. “We’re thrilled to be adding Eric and the Home Sale Assured brand to the Flyhomes family of products,” said Dan Richards, EVP of Mortgage & Closing at Flyhomes. “Eric brings 25 years of mortgage industry experience, from his time as President of Celebrity Home Loans (at the time a national multi-billion dollar retail lender) to his recent success as an entrepreneur at Home Sale Assured. His deep operational knowledge and network of relationships will play a key role in extending our portfolio of products nationwide.” “It’s an honor to be joining Flyhomes at such a critical point in residential real estate,” said Eric Meadow, CEO and founder of Home Sale Assured. “There remain far too many obstacles to home ownership these days, be it first-time home buyers, or in the case of Home Sale Assured, current homeowners trying to move. Consumers, agents and lenders are all looking for practical solutions to overcome these institutional challenges and Flyhomes has been at the forefront of this category. I’m ecstatic to now be able to leverage their advanced infrastructure and resources to bring the Guaranteed Backup Contract to more customers.” Benefits of the Guaranteed Backup Contract: With a valid purchase offer, a lender is able to apply standard agency guidelines to remove the departing debt obligation from the consumer’s debt to income ratio. Thus allowing the lender to approve the loan on the new home before the consumer closes on the sale of their prior home. The consumer is able to close on and move into their new home and take up to 90 days to close on the sale of their prior home. The consumer can work with a real estate agent to list their prior home for sale during this 90-day option period. If the consumer receives a better offer, they can cancel the Guaranteed Backup Contract and sell their home to the higher offer. About Flyhomes Flyhomes is building the world’s best homebuying and selling experience. Launched in 2016, Flyhomes has reinvented the homebuying and selling process at every step, making the process smoother and simpler for consumers with offerings like the Flyhomes Cash Offer and Buy Before You Sell. They back these services with a unique guarantee that gives both buyers and sellers certainty and peace of mind that is unheard of in real estate. To date, they’ve helped clients close on more than $6 billion worth of homes at prices ranging from $150,000 to $7 million.

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Investments

Curbio Releases the Official Realtor's Guide to Pre-Sale Home Improvement

PR Newswire | August 29, 2023

Curbio, Inc., the leading pay-at-closing contractor solution for real estate agents, today announces the launch of its official Realtor's Guide to Pre-Sale Home Improvement. This free playbook is intended to be a resource for real estate agents as they navigate the home sale process. In today's competitive real estate market, buyers want move-in-ready homes, with 77% of buyers surveyed saying that they wouldn't consider a home that isn't move-in-ready. By offering a turnkey, pay-at-closing concierge service, agents can not only meet buyer demand for move-in-ready properties, but can also stand out from the competition to win listings. With 47% of agents surveyed reporting Curbio's fix first, pay when you sell service helped them win a listing, agents can grow their business and stand out from the competition when other agents are simply offering sellers the status quo. "Agents know that every home, regardless of age or condition, will benefit from pre-sale home improvements, but sometimes that can be a tricky conversation with sellers. And with the hot market over the last few years, truthfully, some agents didn't have to navigate the topic. But, that's no longer the case and pay-at-closing repairs and updates are more important than ever. We created this playbook to help agents navigate their conversations with data, expertise and confidence. Our goal here is to help agents shine in their listing appointments, providing them with the tools and information they need to win listings and get them market-ready successfully," said Olivia Mariani, Chief Marketing Officer at Curbio. Curbio's Guide to Pre-Sale Home Improvement provides a comprehensive overview of pre-sale home improvements for agents, with contents including: • The benefits of pre-sale home updates • Overview of the current market and common seller personas • Guide to pitching pre-sale improvements to win listings • List of the top ROI driven pre-sale updates • Listing walkthrough checklist • Guide for getting ahead of client concerns • Comprehensive overview of Curbio's solution and process Other resources available to agents from Curbio include an agent marketing toolkit, which features everything that agents need to share Curbio with their network, such as customizable social media templates and listing presentation slides. The playbook's release comes on the heels of news earlier this month announcing a US roadshow tour offering free seminars for real estate agents looking to level up their pre-sale home improvement expertise. About Curbio Curbio is the leading pay-at-closing contractor working with real estate agents to get homes ready for sale reliably and without hassle. Curbio has modernized home improvement with an easy-to-use mobile app and five-star project management team that streamlines project work and communication, while eliminating the delays and uncertainties that have made home improvement so frustrating, especially for agents and home sellers. Our turnkey approach and pay-when-you-sell model has made Curbio the most trusted contractor for real estate agents and brokerages nationwide, including eXp Realty, RE/MAX, HomeServices of America, Long & foster, and many more. Curbio operates in more than 60 real estate markets across the US.

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Market Outlook, Real Estate Technology

MRI Software's First Cloud Instance in Canada Expands Regional Presence

PRnewswire | July 19, 2023

MRI Software, a global leader in real estate solutions, announced that it has expanded its offerings to the Canadian market through the launch of its first cloud instance in Canada. MRI clients in Canada can now easily access the latest solutions from MRI and host their data in country, ensuring compliance with privacy and security regulations. "We're thrilled to grow our footprint in Canada, demonstrating our continued commitment to ensuring our clients' success and supporting the larger Canadian market," said John Ensign, president and executive managing director of North America for MRI Software. "In fact, MRI was actually one of the first PropTech companies to support property management businesses in Canada, and in recent years, we've significantly expanded our portfolio of solutions in the region. The new cloud instance marks an important milestone in our ongoing efforts to deliver the best services and products to this market." Through the new cloud instance, Canadian clients can take advantage of MRI Agora™, the company's next-generation real estate platform. Built on an AI-first foundation, MRI Agora empowers businesses to automate mundane tasks through connected data and shared services, and MRI Agora Insights unearths actionable portfolio trends to drive better business decisions. The hyper-connected platform bridges MRI's solutions with partner and third-party systems, providing users with the flexibility to control their technology strategy and embrace their applications and processes in a unified experience -- ultimately driving competitive advantage. Additionally, Canadian clients using MRI Property Management X and MRI Angus can now leverage MRI Agora to access the broader range of advanced capabilities from MRI and the PropTech ecosystem. "MRI clients in Canada can now enjoy enhanced performance, security and compliance," says Terry Keller, MRI's senior vice president of information technology. "The ability to access the most advanced solutions from MRI and host data within Canada will give clients unprecedented insights into their property portfolios and clear the way for future scalability." MRI has grown its longstanding presence in Canada, and the number of employees in the region has increased by over 400% within the past two years. In addition to extending access to the MRI Agora platform in the region, MRI has also expanded its facility management and energy management solutions. MRI's cloud instance in Canada is part of the Microsoft Azure data center footprint in Toronto and Quebec. MRI's clients can learn more about today's announcement by registering for its upcoming Canadian Client Summit, which will be held July 27 at the Delta Hotel by Marriott in Toronto. About MRI Software MRI Software is a leading provider of real estate software solutions that transform the way communities live, work and play. MRI's open and connected, AI-first platform empowers owners, operators and occupiers in commercial and residential property organizations to innovate in rapidly changing markets. MRI has been a trailblazer in the PropTech industry for over five decades, serving more than six million users worldwide. Through innovative solutions and a rich partner ecosystem, MRI gives real estate companies the freedom to realize their vision of building thriving communities and stronger businesses. For more information, please visit mrisoftware.com.

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