One-stop-shop trend continues with Propertybase’s Unify buy

With its acquisition of Cross Media this week, real estate software provider Propertybase joins a host of companies completing mergers and acquisitions with the goal of becoming an all-encompassing one-stop shop for housing-related needs.

Cross Media owns Unify, a customer relationship management platform for the residential mortgage industry aimed at lead generation and client retention, as well as real-time loan origination system integration. The company works with roughly 80 mortgage companies in North America, mining and analyzing potential borrower data through automation to produce higher-intent leads. Its new owner, PropertyBase, offers lead generation, CRM, compliance management and other software tools, which are used by 4,500 real estate entities across the country, the company said.

Unify will operate as an independent business unit under the new ownership, but other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Recent studies have shown that 2021 should be a big year for industry consolidation and increased use of built-out technology to boost operational efficiencies. With its purchase of Cross Media, Propertybase recognizes the need to cover the entirety of a real estate transaction, CEO Vance Loiselle told National Mortgage News. The acquisition fits the next phase of the company’s vision to enhance its network in the “digital-first world,” he said.

The marriage of lead generations should connect the dots from purchasing a home to financing it.

“Now is the perfect time to transcend the gap between technologies and to further align ancillary services,” Loiselle said. “In addition, as the mortgage industry continues to benefit from refinancing, it will be imperative to proactively support mortgage brokerages with software to handle these requests as well as generate new leads.”