SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 26, 2018—CU Realty Services (CURS)—the largest real estate CUSO in the U.S.—is celebrating year-over-year growth for the seventh consecutive year. The continued upswing is attributed to the success of HomeAdvantage®, CURS’ turnkey real estate services program that helps CUs close more purchase mortgages. In 2017, credit unions that used HomeAdvantage saw mortgage pull-through rates of 80 percent or higher..
CU Realty’s 2017 success is reflected in these key milestones:
- Facilitated almost 4,000 closings through HomeAdvantage, resulting in over $750 million in purchase mortgage loans
- Delivered $5.82 million in HomeAdvantage Cash Rewards to home buying and selling members—a 6 percent increase over 2016. Almost $35.3 million in Cash Rewards have been cumulatively distributed during the program’s lifetime
- Added 142 real estate agents to the HomeAdvantage network of approved agents
- Signed 14 new credit union partners
- Expanded into two new states: Missouri and New Jersey
“Credit unions that use HomeAdvantage see a variety of member and CU-focused benefits,” said Mike Corn, president and CEO of CU Realty Services. “For members, HomeAdvantage makes the home buying process easy and our Cash Rewards make homeownership more affordable. For credit unions, HomeAdvantage provides a technology platform from which they can reach and engage more members, and close more purchase loans. It’s truly a win-win relationship!”
NEW CREDIT UNION PARTNERS
Fourteen credit unions, serving almost 1.4 million members, signed up with HomeAdvantage in 2017:
- 121 Financial Credit Union (Jacksonville, Florida)—49,300 members, $553 million in assets
- Affinity Federal Credit Union (Basking Ridge, New Jersey)—150,000 members, $3 billion in assets
- Anheuser Busch Employees’ Credit Union (St. Louis)—123,000 members, $1.7 billion in assets
- Christian Community Credit Union (San Dimas, California)—31,400 members, $637 million in assets
- Citadel Federal Credit Union (Exton, Pennsylvania)—190,000 members, more than $3 billion in assets
- Credit Union 1 (Rantoul, Illinois)—102,000 members, $818 million in assets
- EECU (Fort Worth, Texas)—180,000 members, more than $2 billion in assets
- GTE (Tampa, Florida)—260,000 members, $1.98 billion in assets
- Jax Federal Credit Union (Jacksonville, Florida)—35,000 members, $380 million in assets
- Launch Federal Credit Union (Merritt Island, Florida)—65,000 members, $757 million in assets
- Merck Sharp & Dohme Federal Credit Union (Chalfont, Pennsylvania)—28,500 members, more than $560 million in assets
- Merrimack Valley Credit Union (Lawrence, Massachusetts)—47,000 members, $600 million in assets
- Technology Credit Union (San Jose, California)—91,500 members, $2.4 billion in assets
- Verity Credit Union (Seattle)—31,000 members, $500 million in assets
These 14 new credit union partners join hundreds of others throughout the U.S. that offer HomeAdvantage to their members. The program provides their home buying and selling members with access to the real estate tools and support they want during the earliest stages of their journey to homeownership. This includes property listings, recent sales data, neighborhood demographics and a network of reputable real estate agents.
When members use a real estate agent in the HomeAdvantage network, they qualify to earn HomeAdvantage Cash Rewards at closing—a cash-back benefit equal to 20 percent of the agent’s earned commission. In 2017, HomeAdvantage delivered $5.82 million in Cash Rewards averaging $1,570 in savings per transaction.
2017 CASH REWARDS
The 10 credit unions with the largest HomeAdvantage Cash Rewards payouts in 2017 saw combined member savings of almost $2.9 million. Those CUs and their total 2017 Cash Rewards are:
- BCU (Vernon Hills, Illinois)—$683,444
- Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union (Washington)—$405,699
- Northwest Federal Credit Union (Herndon, Virginia)—$324,694
- Wings Financial Credit Union (Apple Valley, Minnesota)—$274,576
- Apple Federal Credit Union (Fairfax, Virginia)—$259,727
- Partners Federal Credit Union (Burbank, California)—$235,804
- Wright-Patt Credit Union (Beavercreek, Ohio)—$221,277
- Tower Federal Credit Union (Laurel, Maryland)—$220,763
- Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union (St. Paul, Minnesota)—$191,515
- Fairwinds Credit Union (Orlando, Florida.)—$178,009
MILLION DOLLAR CLUB RECOGNIZES LIFETIME CASH REWARDS
Year-over-year growth also prompted the launch of the CU Realty Million Dollar Club. Last year, eight credit unions were inducted into the club, which was created to recognize those CUs where HomeAdvantage has given back at least $1 million in Cash Rewards to its members. Those credit unions and their lifetime cash-back benefits are:
- Northwest Federal Credit Union—$4.93 million
- Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union—$4.47 million
- BCU—$2.3 million in Cash Rewards
- Tower Federal Credit Union—$1.97 million
- Wright-Patt Credit Union—$1.9 million
- Apple Federal Credit Union—$1.67 million
- Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union—$1.47 million
- State Department Federal Credit Union (Washington)—$1.3 million
About CU Realty Services, LLC
CU Realty Services provides real estate services to credit unions across the nation, helping them increase their purchase mortgage business. Launched in 2001, the CUSO has worked with more than 100 credit unions and mortgage CUSOs nationwide to offer its turnkey real estate program, HomeAdvantage. Through the program, credit union members can search for homes, research neighborhoods, calculate costs of homeownership, connect to experienced real estate agents, and earn HomeAdvantage Cash Rewards. By offering this program to members, credit unions are able to attract, identify and engage more home buyers, and consequently close more loans. To learn more, visit www.curealty.com.
Credit Union Partner Links
listed in order of first mention:
121 Financial Credit Union https://www.121fcu.org/
Affinity Federal Credit Union https://www.affinityfcu.com/
Anheuser Busch Employees’ Credit Union https://www.abecu.org/home/home
Christian Community Credit Union https://www.mycccu.com/
Citadel Federal Credit Union https://www.citadelbanking.com/
Jax Federal Credit Union https://www.jaxfcu.org/
Merck Sharp & Dohme Federal Credit Union https://www.msdfcu.org/
Merrimack Valley Credit Union https://www.mvcu.com/
ProFed Federal Credit Union https://www.profedcu.org/home/home
Sacramento Credit Union https://www.sactocu.org/
Technology Credit Union https://www.techcu.com/
BCU https://www.bcu.org/
Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union https://www.bfsfcu.org/
Northwest Federal Credit Union https://www.nwfcu.org/
Wings Financial Credit Union https://www.wingsfinancial.com/home
Apple Federal Credit Union https://www.applefcu.org/
Partners Federal Credit Union https://partnersfcu.org/
Wright-Patt Credit Union https://www.wpcu.coop/
Tower Federal Credit Union https://www.towerfcu.org/
Fairwinds Credit Union https://www.fairwinds.org/
State Department Federal Credit Union https://www.sdfcu.org/
