BREAKING PROPERTY NEWS – 18/08/2022
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.
US Proptech News: PropTech Unicorn PLACE expands in 19 states with 37 new teams
PLACE, the industry’s only brokerage-agnostic technology and business services platform for top real estate professionals, today reported strong mid-year growth, launching 37 teams and expanding the PLACE footprint to 35 states and Canada. New PLACE teams in 2022 have added over $1.5B in combined sales volume to the platform, contributing over $40 million in gross commission income (GCI) revenue. These new partners represent four different brokerages across 19 different states.
PLACE continues to launch partnerships with some of the most productive teams in the industry. They recently announced partnerships with Steve Pilkington and the Path Home Team of REAL Broker who closed $72.8 million in sales volume in 2021, Thuy Nguyen and Ron Ruscha and the Building Dreams Team of Keller Williams in Washington, who closed $97 million of sales volume in 2021, and Ramon Casaus and Alex Cordova and ROC Real Estate Partners of eXp covering New Mexico and Arizona with over $130 million in closed sales last year.
“Our continued momentum is the result of our ability to offer a unique value proposition to our operators, and our emergence as a dominant force in the real estate technology space,” said Ben Kinney, co-founder of PLACE. “Our focus continues to be on partnering with the top performing agents across the United States and Canada. Our commitment to make running a real estate business easier, making home buying and selling easier, and making homeownership easier is unwavering. We’ve been able to deliver that through our leadership in product innovation. It’s what the modern real estate team needs to accelerate growth and profitability.”
Since achieving Unicorn status with a $1B valuation and $100M Series A round, PLACE has grown its headquarter based staff to 620 employees, including appointments to key leadership positions, including Emiliano Delucia as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Abby Powell as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Last year, PLACE set ambitious revenue goals and is on track to double its partnership count by year end.
“The growth we have experienced so far this year is incredible, thanks to our collaborative partnerships with some of the best teams in the real estate industry nationwide,” said PLACE Co-Founder Chris Suarez. “On top of it all, we are expecting even more growth in the upcoming quarter with the addition of some stellar teams that represent over $1 billion in sales volume.”
As the only broker agnostic platform in the industry, PLACE maintains a unique market advantage that has been instrumental in its appeal to real estate professionals. Teams powered by PLACE receive an end-to-end suite of software solutions and business services, including administrative support, marketing and branding, lead generation, accounting, legal, HR, back-office infrastructure, and training for all positions. Upon affiliating with PLACE, Partners and their teams experience an increase in sales volume, agent productivity, bottom-line profitability, and customer loyalty.
Demand For Rent Protection Surges, Reports LettingaProperty.com
- 48% of landlords have considered rent protection/additional insurance
- Growing appetite for rent protection reflects pressures on both landlords and tenants
- Many landlords seeking to protect their sole source of income
A new survey from online rental platform LettingaProperty.com has revealed that 48% of landlords have considered rent protection or additional insurance. Meanwhile, the company reports a growing number of enquiries for rent protection from landlords who are concerned on both an emotional and practical level about tenants’ finances, along with their own.
“We’ve had a number of conversations recently with landlords who are concerned about cost-of-living rises, and the impact this may have on their tenants’ quality of life. At the same time, landlords are increasingly seeking information on rent protection, so they are covered should their tenants become unable to pay their rent.”
Jonathan Daines, Founder and CEO, LettingaProperty.com
In the first quarter of 2022, 62% of landlords subscribing to LettingaProperty.com plans chose to include rent protection. In Q2, this figure rose sharply, with more than 75% of landlords opting for the added security of rent protection.
LettingaProperty.com offers two plans that include rent protection. Under its Essential and Complete plans, landlords enjoy six months’ rent protection (up to a maximum of £2,500 per month). For landlords whose sole source of income is their property, rent protection is an absolute must, as LettingaProperty.com customer Eleanor points out:
“I have rent protection, as the rent is the source of my income. When I worked full time, I had income protection – it’s just common sense if you rely on the income.”
Eleanor, landlord and customer LettingaProperty.com customer
Despite their concern over the current economic landscape, the majority of landlords are keeping calm and carrying on at present. 59% plan to maintain their current rental portfolio over the coming 6-12 months, according to the LettingaProperty.com survey.
That figure rises to 79% for landlords using LettingaProperty.com to manage their buy to let properties, as a result of the additional support and security that the platform provides. It furnishes landlords with the ability to find tenants and access a wide range of services, including professional tenancy setup and referencing, rent management, health & safety cover, home emergency cover, dispute resolution, information updates and more.
In addition to taking a cautious approach to protecting the income on which they rely, landlords have a range of other concerns right now. Top of the list is government changes to legislation, with respondents to the recent LettingaProperty.com survey citing the Renters Reform Bill and upcoming EPC changes as being among their worries.
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