Real estate tech provider Accurate Group announced on Tuesday the acquisition of eMerge Property Solutions for an undisclosed sum, three months after receiving a strategic investment from Novacap.
eMerge, a company that offers alternative valuation solutions, including broker price opinions (BPOs), will allow Accurate Group to increase its broker network and leverage property inspection technology, the company said.
Paul Doman, Accurate Group’s president and CEO, said the company has been reselling eMerge broker price opinions solutions for many years, but now it will offer the product direct on the Archer technology platform.
“The acquisition comes at a time when we are realizing unprecedented demand for digitization of appraisal, title, closing and compliance services,” Doman said in a statement.
The company claims on its website that the total value of homes it has appraised is over $517 billion since 2010. Also, its total value of transactions closed and recorded since 2010 is over $436 billion.
The acquired company will operate as a standalone division. Accurate will retain the team, including e-Merge’s co-founder and CEO, Brandon Winters, who has over 15 years of experience in the valuation space.
“The timing of the transaction is perfectly suited to allow our combined businesses to take advantage of anticipated growth in both servicing and investor-driven transaction volumes,” said Winters.
This is the second acquisition for Accurate this year. In May, the company acquired Coast to Coast Title & Escrow, expanding its local presence in the Southeast and boosting its national title insurance and closing capabilities.
In August, the company received a strategic investment by the private equity firm Novacap to accelerate its growth plan.
Investment banks expect mergers, acquisitions, and capital raises opportunities in the mortgage market in the coming year, as the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital lending.
John Guzzo, managing director at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW), said in an interview with HousingWire in the fall that many deals right now are focused on appraisal and title spaces.
“The next five years will have continued activity, just because of how fragmented this market is and how much innovation is pouring into it,” he said.
