SoFi Blog

This time of year marks a very busy season for the housing market. The weather is improving, inventory has increased, and buyers and sellers alike have emerged from hibernation to put their much-anticipated homebuying and selling plans in motion.

Where in the U.S. are homes selling the fastest? Look to the San Francisco Bay Area, and you’ll find your answer. According to a recent report, 8 of the 10 fastest-moving real estate markets in the U.S. are located in California. The top three are in the Bay Area.

The report came from Ralph McLaughlin, a housing economist at Trulia, who did an analysis of the fastest-moving real estate markets in the United States. For those of us who live in California, this list may not be a surprise.

Each quarter, the SoFi Career Coaching Team sifts through a mountain of employment data in order to identify the latest hiring and salary trends for our Career Trends Report. Our aim? To gauge the demand for undergraduate and graduate level talent, provide insight into hiring practices across industries and regions, and help our members and other early stage professionals make informed decisions about career development strategy.

Has anyone else noticed an uptick in conversation about personal finance this month? As someone who’s worked in the financial industry for many years, I’m always pleasantly surprised when the rest of the world becomes more interested in the topics I deal with every day – things like investing, saving, and debt management.

Recognized for Innovation in Mortgage, Including First-of-its-Kind Mobile Mortgage Experience

SAN FRANCISCO – April 15, 2015 – Mike Cagney, CEO and Co-Founder of SoFi, a leading marketplace lender, today was named Innovator of the Year by LendIt, the largest conference series dedicated to connecting the global online lending community. Cagney was recognized for his innovative work redefining the mortgage experience including a first-of-its-kind mobile experience that provides real rate quotes to qualified applicants in under one minute.

The Innovator of the Year award recognizes a company that has helped advance peer-to-peer and online lending through the launch of a new product, service or program.  Presented to SoFi at the LendIt USA conference in New York, more than 2,400 institutional investors, private wealth managers, family offices, individual investors and industry participants were in attendance.

In recognizing SoFi, Peter Renton, co-founder of LendIt and Founder of Lend Academy said, “The LendIt Innovator of the Year Award honors the company that has done the most in the past year to move our industry forward. The LendIt team unanimously chose SoFi for providing real innovation in the home mortgage market.”  He continued, “SoFi has by far broken the most ground by introducing mortgage products that have never been seen before in our industry. Just as importantly, they are making a meaningful and lasting impact on consumers.”

Building on its success with student loan refinancing, SoFi offers innovative mortgage options for high quality borrowers seeking both high and low down payment purchase and refinancing options.  Highlights include:

• Competitive rates for purchasing or refinancing your home.
• More for your money – as little as 10% down on loans up to $5M.
• Greater flexibility – rates for up to 50% down on loans up to $5M.
• Painless prequalification – find your rate online instantly at SoFi.com
• Fast financing – loans generally close within 21 days.
• No application or origination fees.

“We thank LendIt for the honor,” said Mike Cagney, SoFi CEO. “It’s no secret that the mortgage industry is long overdue for improvement. It’s time that borrowers, particularly Millennials and Gen Xer’s, have access to a mortgage experience that includes great rates, flexible options and simple online tools. We’re excited to be at the forefront of this disruption – it’s just the beginning.”

Since launching mortgages in October 2014, SoFi has more than tripled its presence to 22 states and the District of Columbia.  Current states include Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.[1]

Also today, SoFi was announced as one of Forbes magazine “Next Billion Dollar Startups.” The recognition comes on the heels of the Wall Street Journal ranking SoFi in its “Billion Dollar Start Up Club” earlier this quarter.

About SoFi

SoFi is a leader in marketplace lending and the largest provider of student loan refinancing, with over $73 billion+ billion dollars in loans funded. We’re transforming financial services for early stage professionals with student loan refinancing, mortgages, personal loans, and MBA loans.  Unlike traditional lenders, our proprietary underwriting approach takes into account merit and employment history to offer unique credit products our members won’t find elsewhere.  We offer individual and institutional investors the ability to create positive social impact on the communities they care about while earning compelling rates of return.  For more information, visit SoFi.com.

[1]For more information on SoFi mortgages, visit sofi.com/mortgage.  All loans funded by SoFi Lending Corp. NMLS # 1121636.