Constellation Real Estate Group has acquired mortgage tech provider Mortgage Builder, adding a 12th company to its rapidly growing portfolio.
Mortgage Builder provides systems that allow lenders to originate and service mortgages. And it “fits nicely” into Constellation Real Estate Group’s portfolio of real estate technology companies, President Scott Smith said in a statement.
“Many real estate brokers have mortgage loan businesses and Mortgage Builder can be used there (Howard Hanna for example – we built and operate HowardHanna.com and their mortgage group uses Mortgage Builder),” he told Inman by email.
The acquisition vaults Constellation Real Estate Group into the mortgage industry following years of carving out a footprint in the agent and brokerage software space. Constellation’s portfolio also includes providers of mobile and desktop websites, mapping solutions and transaction management software, as well as lead management, marketing and voice-response tools.
Combined, its collection of companies serves more than 500,000 agents, brokerages, franchises and banks.
Constellation Real Estate Group is a division of Constellation Software Inc., a company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange with a market cap of $18 billion. Its business model involves buying and growing industry-focused software providers, usually on the smaller side. It’s gobbled up more than 260 startups since its founding in 1995, according to Wikipedia.
Applying this strategy in the real estate sector, Constellation Real Estate Group has acquired software providers including Real Estate Digital, Market Leader, Zurple and Diverse Solutions, formerly owned by Zillow Group. Constellation Web Solutions, Sharper Agent, Z57, Birdview, ReloSpec, Real Estate Digital and Baynet World are also among the company’s assets.
Some real estate giants acquire different software providers in a bid to create “end-to-end” platforms that can shepherd customers from lead to closing. But Constellation Real Estate Group takes a different approach by allowing its portfolio of companies to primarily run independently.
“As far as blending companies, our investment strategy is to allow our brands to run independently,” Smith said. “While we leverage resources and expertise across the portfolio, more often than not, empowering the managers of those businesses to remain in control allows them to keep their customers as a primary focus and driver of their business. ”
The acquisition of Mortgage Builder marks its third purchase since it bought Real Estate Digital a year ago. In 2018, it also acquired Emphasys RE, accounting software that integrates with QuickBooks, and Baynet World, a provider of real estate and multiple listing service technologies, Smith said.
Here’s a more detailed summary of every company owned by Constellation Real Estate Group, according to Smith:
- Market Leader – Lead-to-close front office solutions with digital and SEM marketing lead generation
- Sharper Agent – Multi-channel (email, online, print) marketing automation platform
- Real Estate Digital – Custom front-office solutions: websites, CRM, and Enterprise-level IDX solutions as well as back office document and transx mgmt and e-signature.
- Constellation Web Solutions – Award-winning RE website design with mobile tech, data services and interactive voice response systems
- ReloSpec – Software for brokerages to manage all their relocation transactions
- Emphasys Real Estate – Accounting software with full-scale general ledger and integration with QuickBooks
- Marketing and SEM Services – to generate leads and drive traffic to customer-branded websites
- Diverse Solutions – IDX solutions that seamlessly integrate MLS data and advanced property searches to capture leads on RE websites
- Z57 – Solutions for social media marketing, connecting with mobile consumers, lead capture website, and marketing tools
- Zurple – End-to-end lead generation marketing software for agents and teams: Marketing “Conversations” Automation Platform
- Baynet World – RE & MLS technologies offering custom front-office solutions & IDX technology
- Mortgage Builder – Mortgage Loan Solutions: Loan Origination Software (LOS) & Loan Servicing Software (LSS)
