Powerbuyer Ribbon, now owned by sale-leaseback platform EasyKnock, is reintroducing its all-cash offer product to Atlanta and Charlotte.
RibbonCash offers temporary financing for cash offers, a powerful model during the housing boom that allowed it to expand to multiple states. But last year brought two rounds of serious staff cuts, with the company retaining only 30 employees by November 2022.
It suspended new RibbonCash financing at that time as well.
EasyKnock purchased Ribbon in May 2023, saying it would speed up the development of its buyer-seller marketplace, slated to launch later this year. The marketplace will connect sellers to both institutional and individual buyers, giving EasyKnock access to another sector of the housing market. It currently caters to existing homeowners.…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Professional opportunities, affordability, and fun in the country’s cities are being measured as commencement ceremonies wrap up nationally and Atlanta is coming out on top as the best place for college graduates to move to.
Earlier this week, WalletHub named Atlanta, Georgia, the best city to start a career after comparing the relative market strength and overall livability of 182 cities using 26 key metrics ranging from the monthly average starting salary to housing affordability.
Atlanta did well in the WalletHub ranking because of the availability of entry-level jobs and its low unemployment rate. On May 2, CoworkingCafe named Atlanta the best city to start a career with a bachelor’s degree. The underlying analysis took into account…
Rents have been rising nationwide, squeezing Americans hoping to save for a down payment or to reduce debt. But a new analysis from the Bank of America Institute found that renters in the Sun Belt have felt the worst of it.
Median rent payment growth in Sun Belt cities like Phoenix and Tampa outpaced Western and Northeastern cities by more than 20 percentage points in February, leaders at the Institute said.
Overall, Bank of America customers saw their rents increase by 8% YOY in February.
Growth changed dramatically by geography. Phoenix and Tampa both saw rent costs increase by 26% and 23% YoY respectively in February. These are both record highs.
Cities like Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Boston saw smaller…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Leaders in the industry are committed to giving back during the holiday season and throughout the year. It was announced earlier this month that Down Payment Resource in Atlanta, Ga., will help a family in Memphis, Tenn., attain their homeownership dreams by donating $10,000 to the Homeownership Council of America’s Equity Down Payment Assistance program. They provide down payment and closing cost assistance for low-to-moderate income and minority first-time homebuyers. Leaders at Down Payment Resource say that is “a mission that aligns with our company’s founding goal of expanding affordable homeownership program awareness, understanding, and participation.” Rob Chrane, founder and CEO of Down Payment Resource, said in a statement for The Mortgage Note that they are supporting the program because…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The housing market traditionally cools during the holiday season as people focus on family and friends but industry leaders say it is a good time for potential sellers and buyers to weigh their options. After mortgage rates recently surged above 7%, real estate activity and consumer sentiment took a nosedive. Home delistings hit a record high in November as sellers and buyers pulled out of the market, according to journalists Lily Katz and Ben Walzer at Redfin. Markets where home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic are now cooling the fastest. In Sacramento, Calif., an average of 3.6% of active listings were delisted per week during the 12 weeks ending on November 27, up 1.6 percentage points from one year earlier.…
By CHUCK GREEN During the pandemic homebuyers fled to southern states for warmer weather but now would-be purchasers are bailing out of deals at a faster clip than anywhere in the country. According to analysts at Redfin, 60,000 deals were called off nationally in September. That’s 17% of the homes that went under contract that month. In Florida, Jacksonville had 745 home-purchase agreements fall through, equal to 30.3% of homes that went under contract. That was the highest percentage among the metros Redfin analyzed. They were followed by San Antonio, TX (25.3%), Atlanta, GA (25%), Orlando, FL (24.6%), and Tampa, FL (24.5%). In August, about 800 home purchase agreements were tabled in Jacksonville. That’s 26.1% of homes that went under contract…
Atlanta-based Peachtree Group has promoted Brian Waldman to chief investment officer and appointed Jeremy Stoler to EVP, debt capital markets, the company announced in a press release. Waldman will manage the company’s multi-billion-dollar investment portfolio and investment strategies across its distinct operating, lending, and real estate divisions. He brings two decades of experience to the position, including Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets for Beacon Property Members, where he executed capital markets and other advisory assignments with an asset value of more than $8 billion. He joined Peachtree in 2015. During his tenure, he has overseen transactions grossing about $6 billion. “Brian has extensive investment and portfolio management experience and an in-depth understanding of the investment process. We are…
Inflation is soaring in America’s most popular migration locations, in part because of their boost of new residents and high home price appreciation, Redfin reported. Phoenix, Atlanta, Tampa, and Miami saw double-digit inflation in Q2 2022. They are also all high migration areas that are popular among Redfin’s users. Inflation in Phoenix was up 11.3% YOY and is the third most popular city for Redfin.com users looking to move to a new city. Atlanta was the twelfth most popular and had an inflation rate of 10.9%. Next came Tampa, the second most popular destination on Redfin, with the third highest inflation rate at 10.6%, followed by Miami, the single most popular destination, with the fourth highest inflation at 10% flat.…
By SCOTT KIMBLER Potential homebuyers are rushing to mortgage offices to make sure they get a loan before prices and interest rates go even higher. Mortgage rates jumped again to an average of 4.67%, up from last week’s 4.42%, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. At the same time, the spring selling season is looking promising for sellers. Home prices rose 1.84% in February and 19.6% year-over-year – the largest annual gains on record – according to Black Knight’s Monthly Mortgage Monitor Report. These numbers, along with an awkward supply and demand situation, are pushing some buyers who are in a position to do so to go ahead with their home purchase now. Jerry Stover, sales manager with Homeowners Financial, said this has been…
By DOUG OHLEMEIER Despite many employees working from home and companies adopting hybrid work models, investors are still attracted to the land of cubicles. While office suites aren’t as packed with workers as before the pandemic, the commercial market remains strong. “There is investor interest in office properties,” said Stephen Newbold, National Director in the U.S. office of research for Colliers International, a Toronto, Ontario-based global real estate services and investment management company. “We are at a stage where we can fairly confidently say that we’re not going back to those (2020) levels. It may fluctuate a little, but my overarching view is we are stabilizing on vacancies and space on the market.” Observers aren’t sure how the new work…
