Orchard open for business in Phoenix, Portland and Seattle
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Power Buyer Orchard now has a presence in 13 markets with the addition of Phoenix, Portland and Seattle, the company announced Wednesday, saying it’s doubled its geographic footprint since announcing a $100 million Series D funding round in September.
New York City-based Orchard is a vertically-integrated platform providing real estate brokerage, mortgage and title services, helping clients make non-contingent or cash-backed offers and to buy a home before they sell their existing residence.
The company also offers its services in Atlanta, Denver, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham North Carolina, Montgomery County Maryland, Northern Virginia, and four Texas markets — Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio.
Court Cunningham
“In every market where we operate, Orchard has hired a phenomenal team of real estate experts with decades of experience,” Orchard co-founder and CEO Court Cunningham said in a statement. “Buyers and sellers alike will benefit from their intricate regional knowledge. We are thrilled to help more people in more places get their dream homes.”
Last summer, Orchard announced new executive hires that the company said would help it scale nationwide. Patrick McClymont, who led all finance-related functions for IMAX Corp., joined orchard as chief financial officer, while JP Morgan and Bain Capital veteran Kelly Brink was came aboard as head of capital markets.
Era Ventures Managing Partner Clelia Peters has predicted that by 2030, half of all residential real estate transactions could involve non-traditional financing like Power Buyer services that help homebuyers compete with investors making cash offers.
Another leading Power Buyer, Knock, last week announced the addition of five metros in Washington state, putting the company in 75 markets. Knock is also providing jumbo loans of up to $3 million.
Last fall, rival Homeward kicked off a 20-market expansion effort in Phoenix, with founder Tim Heyl telling Inman that the company is also eyeing California, Washington, Oregon, Florida and other coastal markets.
At Inman Connect New York last week, Peters coined a term for vertically-integrated platforms like Orchard and Better that employ their own agents.
“I want to introduce a new term. I think those guys are neo brokers, not power brokers,” Peters said. “Because that’s a new model where you’re integrating financing and, generally, an employed agent model, and they’re competing directly with brokerages in many cases.”
Other Power Buyers, including Homeward and Knock, partner with agents, but make money by providing the financing — you can’t shop around for your own lender.
Seattle-based Flyhomes provides end-to-end homebuying services through subsidiaries including Flyhomes Brokerage, Flyhomes Mortgage and Flyhomes Closing. Although homebuyers don’t have to work with a Flyhomes Brokerage agent, those that do can earn a brokerage credit that can offset incremental closing costs on their short-term loan.
Another fast growing Power Buyer, Ribbon, employs an open business model, partnering with a number of real estate brokerages and lenders to enable homebuyers to waive financing and appraisal contingencies when making offers. Ribbon recently expanded into the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions and also serves markets in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
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