Over the past five years, Qualia’s vision has been to turn a complex, archaic real estate process riddled with inefficiencies into a simple, seamless, and secure experience. In that time, we have grown our market share to over 15% of all U.S. real estate transactions and processed closings in over 80% of all U.S. counties.
I’m incredibly proud of what we have built so far, but today, I’m especially proud of our team for being selected by Iowa Title Guaranty (ITG), the state-entity that operates all of Iowa’s real estate transactions and title coverage, to be the platform of record for its real estate operations. This is the first time Iowa has selected a vendor for its internal real estate operations, which include title underwriting coverage as well as all direct issued certificates and auditing operations related to title coverage products originating from field issuers.
This partnership comes at an important juncture in the growth of the “Silicon Prairie” as Iowa embraces technology and flourishes at a rapid pace. We are excited to not only be the foundation for Iowa’s real estate infrastructure, but also contribute to Iowa’s innovation and its economy. By enabling an easier to use, seamless real estate process, we will speed up both the home buying and commercial real estate experience, creating efficiencies that will translate into economic value.
ITG ran an extensive and well-run review of software options that included an analysis of technology capabilities as well as industry expertise. Despite reviewing other software options that were anywhere from 15 to 35 years old, they chose Qualia because we are the only enterprise real estate technology platform that can manage the scale and complexity of the Iowa land-title system, streamline processes, and integrate easily across all functional areas of the closing.
What sets Iowa apart in the real estate industry is that it has a completely different model for real estate conveyance and title coverage than the rest of the country. In fact, Iowa outlawed title insurance in 1947 and is the only state that doesn’t allow for this type of insurance. But because secondary mortgage market players like Fannie Mae require title coverage, Iowa created Iowa Title Guaranty in 1987 as the only entity authorized to provide title certification in Iowa. As a result, the state is involved in nearly every real estate transaction in Iowa.
So what does this partnership mean for Qualia? It means that we will be providing the infrastructure that powers Iowa’s complex real estate ecosystem to make it easier for every lender, broker, and real estate investor to do business in the state of Iowa. It means that by the end of 2020, most real estate transactions in Iowa will be run through Qualia. And, ultimately, it means that Qualia will make Iowa the easiest place to buy and sell real estate in the country.
From its unique real estate model to its investment in innovation, Iowa is poised to provide the premiere real estate transaction experience to its citizens. We are excited for the future of Iowa’s real estate ecosystem and look forward to our partnership and the road ahead.
