Money360 to Build on Origination Growth in 2018

After making great strides in 2017 commercial real estate marketplace lender Money360 is poised to do even better in 2018, founder and CEO Evan Gentry believes.

His optimism has many roots. Money360’s historical loan volume recently surpassed $500 million, with $350 million of that coming in 2017 alone. The acceleration should continue, as Mr. Gentry predicts $750-$800 million in total volume for 2018.

“We should surpass the $1 billion mark this summer,” Mr. Gentry said.

Evan Gentry
Evan Gentry

Money360 also announced a partnership with Ten-X, a platform allowing people to buy and sell residential and commercial real estate online. That will also help growth and is a good fit for Money360 as they continue to focus on finding ways to use technology to simplify borrowing.

Buyers coming to Ten-X only had 30 days to arrange financing, which proved tough for some. Money360 can pre-underwrite properties before they appear on the platform and can quickly vet borrowers within the 30-day window.

Mr. Gentry also credited the addition of a team of regional business development officers for their contributions to Money360’s growth. They brought an average of 25 years commercial real estate experience and detailed regional knowledge to their new roles and have been ever-present at industry events.

“They brought significant credibility,” Mr. Gentry said. “At shows, people would say they never heard of us before but now we’re everywhere.”

The model has been so successful that Money360 plans on doubling the number of regional business development officers in 2018, Mr. Gentry said.

An expanded product mix should also help, he added. With more than 90 per cent of volume coming from their one core bridge product, Money360 has added a permanent product syndicated to banks and credit unions.

Expected rate hikes will have an effect on the markets, but a manageable one, Mr. Gentry suggested. They’ll impact CAP rates and put some downward pressure on valuations but the industry has largely priced those increases in already, he said.