Knock Home Swap has entered The Golden State.
The real estate technology company that specializes in empowering sellers to move before they sell will be partnering with Los Angeles’s The Agency to facilitate its services in what is now its most prominent market and the nation’s second largest housing market.
The company is now operating in 18 markets in seven states. Agents in The Agency’s Scottsdale, Arizona, and South Florida offices will also be eligible to facilitate a Knock Home Swap.
Mauricio Umansky
As part of Knock Home Swap, sellers are eligible for an interest-free bridge loan of now up to $250,000, increased from $200,000. The loan helps cover pre-market concierge services for home preparation and repairs, a down payment advance on the new property and up to six months of mortgage payments on the home being sold. Ninety percent of Knock homes sell in 90 days or less.
Mauricio Umansky, CEO and founder of The Agency, and an Inman contributor, said that Knock’s presence in the LA market could become an equalizer for families throughout the City of Angels who are in the market for homes under $2 million.
“Buyers in Los Angeles are competing in a market where aggressive deal terms, bidding wars, and homes snapped up hours after they hit the market are par for the course,” he said. “We believe Knock Home Swap will be a great tool for our clients in Los Angeles, Scottsdale and South Florida.”
Agents who want to offer Home Swap to clients undergo training with Knock, which can usually be completed in a few hours.
The Red Paper, The Agency’s 2020 Annual Report, stated that competition for homes under $2 million was at an all-time high and that homes were selling 21 days faster on average than in 2019.
Sean Black | Photo credit: Knock
Traditionally, home offers fare much better when not contingent on the sale of the buyer’s current home, a problem Knock Home Swap solves. Consumers are able make non-contingent cash-equivalent offers in conjunction with the confidence of an available down payment as part of the bridge loan.
“Selling a home is always stressful, and that is only magnified in today’s fiercely competitive housing market,” said Knock co-founder and CEO Sean Black. “We’re thrilled to bring the Home Swap to Los Angeles — one of the largest, most diverse and competitive housing markets in the country in partnership with The Agency,”
Knock also offers a sale-leaseback program called Nest that emerged as a supporting product to Home Swap.
Last week Knock announced the hire of mortgage industry executive Laura Gray as Head of Lending.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe
Craig C. Rowe started in commercial real estate at the dawn of the dot-com boom, helping an array of commercial real estate companies fortify their online presence and analyze internal software decisions. He now helps agents with technology decisions and marketing through reviewing software and tech for Inman.
