LendingHome will now offer an online mortgage product for consumers; LendingHome was launched in 2014 and has been funding short-term bridge and rental loans for property investors; the platform has funded over $1 billion in loans; features of the product include: an automated process, real time rates, loan guidance and real estate agent connectivity. Source
"Rocket Mortgage has forever changed the way people think about getting a mortgage," said Jay Farner, CEO of Quicken Loans; for 2016 Quicken Loans has reported record originations of $96 billion with $7 billion contributed by Rocket Mortgage which has been originating loans for 11 months; consumers have reported high demand for the Rocket Mortgage product which provides a much simpler process for homeowners by digitally verifying income, credit, assets and property valuations. Source
The primary focus in the online real estate market has been on consumer and residential products however a significant opportunity appears to exist in commercial real estate with the size of the market valued at approximately $3.5 trillion; HousingWire provides a recap of LendIt's commercial real estate panel featuring the three primary companies active in the space including: Cadre, Money360 and Plum Lending; panelists discussed the success of the their businesses and the main challenges for new entrants including the complexities of data sets and the lack of technology solutions for commercial market services. Source
Revolut will now offer its customers investment at property platform Bricklane; investors can invest in Bricklane tax efficient individual savings accounts for a minimum of 100 British pounds ($122); Bricklane investors receive rental income and capital appreciation from the properties they invest in. Source
Groundfloor has partnered with IRA Services to offer clients investment through tax-deferred retirement accounts; Groundfloor is the US market's first and only real estate platform with all of its investments open to non-accredited investors; through IRA Services, which provides a unique platform for facilitating investment in alternative finance, investors can now invest in Groundfloor's range of real estate offerings, achieving returns of 5% to over 20% in tax deferred retirement accounts; Groundfloor's P2P real estate lending platform has been growing substantially with $16.5 million in loans originated in 2016, an increase of 621% from 2015. Source
LendingHome was founded in 2013 and is the second startup business founded by Matt Humphrey; the firm announced its new consumer loan mortgage product at LendIt USA 2017; since its initial launch, the business has originated over $1 billion in mortgage loans with a focus specifically on fix and flip property owners; the new product will expand the capabilities of the firm's technology by offering consumer mortgage loans to first time homebuyers; the product expansion is a natural extension of the business and talking with Forbes, Humphrey says it has been a part of the firm's plan since founding the company. Source
Money360 has reported another milestone in the nascent online lending commercial real estate market; the firm has originated $100 million in new commercial real estate loans in the past six months, doubling its total from August 2016; four recent loan closings for a total of $38 million helped the company reach its $200 million milestone; Money360 says it expects to exceed $500 million in loan transactions by the end of 2017. Source
UK debt crowdfunding platform Property Crowd has announced the launch of its innovative finance individual savings account (IFISA); the minimum investment for the IFISA is 5,000 British pounds ($6,220) and the account will target returns of 7% to 10%; Property Crowd will compete for investment across the alternative debt market however its offerings vary slightly from traditional P2P lenders since the firm's debt products include structured real estate bonds. Source
Jilliene Helman won the LendIt Fintech Woman of the Year award at LendIt's first industry awards show and has led RealtyMogul since 2013 as the firm's founder; offering debt and equity real estate investments as well as a REIT, RealtyMogul is one of the most innovative real estate investing platforms that has evolved from the JOBS Act's new regulations for crowdfunded investments; Helman talks with Forbes about the firm's REIT investment, the experience of its management team, and how economies of scale and the firm's technology are helping the firm succeed. Source
Nested has reported an 8 million British pound ($10 million) fundraising from investors Passion Capital, GFC and Tim Bunting; the growing company is another example of proptech innovation in residential real estate; targeting the UK housing market, the company guarantees the sale of listed property within 90 days either to a new owner or by buying the property themselves. Source