SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 28, 2017—For the sixth consecutive year, CU Realty Services—the largest real estate CUSO in the U.S.—saw year-over-year growth in revenues, customers, territory and more. The surge is fueled by the success of the CUSO’s credit union partners that experience a rise in purchase mortgage volume after implementing HomeAdvantage®, CU Realty’s turnkey real estate services program.
CU Realty’s continued momentum reflects growth in six key areas during 2016:
- 10 new credit unions partnered with CU Realty to offer HomeAdvantage
- $5.473M in HomeAdvantage Cash Rewards were delivered to home buying and selling members through the HomeAdvantage program—a 26 percent increase over 2015
- 29K+ members signed up to use HomeAdvantage—a 26 percent increase over 2015
- Nearly 4K members closed on a home using HomeAdvantage—a 23 percent increase over 2015
“HomeAdvantage makes it easy for credit unions to build better relationships with their home buying members because it focuses on supporting the entire real estate journey, from selling a home to finding a new one and all the steps in between,” said Mike Corn, president and CEO of CU Realty Services. “But just as important, our HomeAdvantage Cash Rewards actually help credit unions make homeownership more affordable. It’s a big deal for those members who work hard to save for their down payment, so it’s a big deal for us too!”
Last year, CU Realty signed on 10 new partners that look to offer the turnkey real estate service to more than 1.6 million members combined:
2. SAFE Credit Union (Sacramento, Calif.) – 206,000 members, $2.5B in assets
3. San Mateo Credit Union (Redwood City, Calif.) – 86,000 members, $973M in assets
4. Yolo Federal Credit Union (Woodland, Calif.) – 17,000 members, $264M in assets
5. CUSO Mortgage (Anaheim, Calif.)
6. Abbott Laboratories Employees Credit Union (Gurnee, Ill.) – 31,000 members, $700M in assets
7. SPIRE Credit Union (Falcon Heights, Minn.) – 92,000 members, $893M in assets
8. Washington Gas Light Federal Credit Union (Springfield, Va.) – 9,100 members, $99.7M in assets
9. Educational Systems Federal Credit Union (Greenbelt, Md.) – 86,000 members, $886M in assets
10. Community Credit Union of Florida (Rockledge, Fla.) – 41,500 members, $475M in assets
These new credit unions join a roster of hundreds more across the U.S. that currently offer HomeAdvantage. The online program provides access to real estate tools and support that buyers and sellers seek in the early phases of the real estate lifecycle. This includes property listings, recent sales data, neighborhood demographics and a network of reputable real estate agents. Last year, more than 29,000 credit union members registered to use the service sharing information about their real estate goals, including their timeline to purchase and pre-qualification status. These member profiles, as well as other profile data, are available to the member’s credit union via the HomeAdvantage reporting center.
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 commission. In 2016, credit union members earned almost $5.5M in Cash Rewards, averaging $1,561 in savings per transaction.
The top 10 credit unions with the largest payouts in 2016 saw member savings of almost $2.9 million:
2. Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union (Washington) – $453,506 in Cash Rewards
3. Northwest Federal Credit Union (Herndon, Va.) – $339,000 in Cash Rewards
4. Tower Credit Union (Laurel, Md.) – $258,178 in Cash Rewards
5. Wright-Patt Credit Union (Beavercreek, Ohio) – $256,237 in Cash Rewards
6. Partners Federal Credit Union (Burbank, Calif.) – $235,587 in Cash Rewards
7. Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union (St. Paul, Minn.) – $211,132 in Cash Rewards
8. Apple Federal Credit Union (Fairfax, Va.) – $198,502 in Cash Rewards
9. Fairwinds Credit Union (Orlando, Fla.) – $197,649 in Cash Rewards
10. SECU (Linthicum, Md.) – $173,628 in Cash Rewards
In 2017, CU Realty Services plans to accelerate growth by rolling out new technologies and expanding into new markets, including Oregon. “The user experience of the HomeAdvantage website is critical to attract and engage members looking to buy or sell a home,” says Corn. “Because of this, we are excited to launch a newly designed user interface with enhanced content for www.mycuhomeadvantage.com in the second quarter of this year.”
- CU Realty’s HomeAdvantage program empowers credit unions to identify and engage more of its home buying members, nurturing them through their entire real estate transaction—not just finance a home. More importantly, the program helps members make informed home buying and selling decisions while saving them time and money.
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.
