Fathom Holdings has sold its LiveBy assets to Move Concierge for $3 million — with an additional $300,000 in expected annual contingent payments tied to data-sharing agreements.

Fathom will retain access to the LiveBy platform for five years while Move Concierge extends its services to all Fathom agents.

Both companies will make their services available to brokerages using Fathom’s IntelliAgent platform.

“This transaction deepens our partnership with Move Concierge, provides additional capital to support our growth initiatives and secures ongoing access to LiveBy’s data along with potential revenue-sharing benefits,” said Marco Fregenal, CEO of Fathom Holdings. “It’s a true win-win that strengthens our financial position, enhances the value we deliver to agents and their clients and further positions Fathom for scalable, profitable growth. As these capabilities are integrated across our platform, we expect retention and customer satisfaction to improve.

Gabe Abshire, CEO and founder of Move Concierge, says the move represents a strategic advantage for both companies.

“Supporting Fathom’s 15,000 agents with our white-glove concierge services reinforces our commitment to delivering a mind-blowing experience and driving real value in every transaction,” he said. “We’re here to help real estate professionals stand out in the market and create an elevated experience for their clients, building trust, loyalty and long-term relationships.”

Not one for watching paint dry? Perhaps wallpaper is the transformational fix needed to get your house ready for sale.

Some of the most luxurious homes on the Adelaide property market are wooing buyers with opulent wallpaper features, with one real estate agent believing the boldest choices often draw the most positive feedback.

Toop+Toop sales partner Jordan Begley admitted his city penthouse listing at 3401/19 Frome St, Adelaide, was out there but said every potential buyer to inspect it had loved it.

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3401/19 Frome Street, Adelaide

3401/19 Frome Street, Adelaide

3401/19 Frome Street, Adelaide

The eclectic home, styled by vendors and former PR consultants Gary Lines and Maggi Miles, opens to a dramatic entry dressed in “Menagerie of Extinct Animals’’ wallpaper – a fauna print by Dutch lifestyle brand Moooi, that features extinct animals mysteriously hidden within the design.

A powder room takes the decorating bravado one step further – with custom wallpaper showcasing cutouts of Mr Lines’ face in various expressions.

“It is bold but buyers definitely love it,’’ said Mr Begley of the penthouse, which occupies the entire top floor of Adelaide’s tallest building and has a price guide of $5.9m.

“Even the powder room with the owner’s face is a talking point.

“If you buy (the home), would you change (the wallpaper)? I wouldn’t change it to my face.

“All the responses we’ve had to it (from those inspecting the home) have been nothing but positive.’’

Mr Begley said bold wallpaper choices, particularly in entryways and powder rooms, were increasingly popular with home buyers and, in small areas, were relatively cheap projects for vendors to undertake.

“There’s definitely an appetite to go away from that cookie cutter approach, or that same- same approach, that everyone (selling a home) is doing,’’ he said.

Harris Real Estate property consultant Guy Barrett agreed wallpaper created a talking point in homes.

Mr Barrett’s listing at 20 Wilkinson Ave, Somerton Park, which has a price guide just shy of $5m, features a huge span of Gucci Glade wallpaper in the entry void that extends to the upstairs living and dining room.

He said reaction to the wallpaper had been mostly positive – although those not fans were unlikely to be dissuaded from buying due to wall coverings alone.

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20 Wilkinson Ave, Somerton Park.

20 Wilkinson Ave, Somerton Park.

20 Wilkinson Ave, Somerton Park.

“I think it (the wallpaper) is great. It’s quite calming,’’ Mr Barrett said.

“But wallpaper is an either-or – you either really love it or you really hate it.

“It’s six or seven metres of floor-to-ceiling (wallpaper in the Somerton Park home) so there’s obviously quite a lot of it.

“There’s been some people that have said, ‘I don’t like it’, and I’ve explained to them it’s very expensive Gucci wallpaper.

“But you’re certainly not buying a $5m house, or close to it, for the wallpaper.

“(If a buyer doesn’t like it) then for $1000 worth of paint and a painter they can just paint over it.’’

Presenting Beautiful Homes interior designer and stylist Jessica Jeffs-Furner said wallpaper had come a long way from the outdated filigree patterns and wall-sized murals of old and now served as a beautiful feature to “break up the whiteness’’ of many homes.

But she suggested those preparing homes for sale should still play it safe and opt for wallpaper with texture and subtle patterns rather than “anything too bold’’.

Ms Jeffs-Furner also recommended confining wallpaper to feature walls instead of using it throughout an interior.

“Buyers are more open to (wallpaper) these days, particularly in modern homes where you want to create a little bit of interest, but it can look quite claustrophobic (if a whole home is wallpapered),’’ she said.

“Doing all your walls (in a room) can be quite striking if the room is large enough to handle it but often you are better off restraining it to just a feature wall.’’

– by Lauren Ahwan

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The four-bedroom house at 23 Girton Crescent, Manifold Heights, looks out to the playground in the circular street.

Young families were at the forefront as a four-bedroom Manifold Heights home smashed its price hopes by almost $300,000 at a five-way weekend auction.

The 789sq m property is in the centre of arguably Geelong’s most family-friendly neighbourhood in Girton Crescent.

The home at number 23 is directly opposite the Girton Crescent playground, which occupies the centre of the circular streetscape.

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It sold for $1.78m after being listed with $1.385m-$1.5m expectations.

“Girton Crescent was a big lure because there’s so many people that just want to be in that specific position, with the park and it’s got that really family, soft, leafy environment,” McGrath, Geelong selling agent Jim Cross said.

“It was a really good sized, full four-bedroom house with a separate office and two living areas, and a double garage and three carports, so car accommodation was really abundant.

“The property would have been renovated about 25 years ago, so it was still in good order, but people could move in and maybe update the kitchen and bathrooms over time if they wish to.”

The character home occupies a 789sq m property.

The four-bedroom house at 23 Girton Crescent, Manifold Heights was listed for sale with price hopes from $1.385m to $1.5m.

Mr Cross said the property was flexible for younger families looking to raise children, though the property also attracted a downsizer coming from an acreage property keen to keep their hand in the garden.

There was an element of fear of missing out behind the result.

“Three out of the five bidders had already missed out on two or three properties previously offered,” Mr Cross said.

“That’s a sign that the mid-$1m family market is heating up. Usually we find when people have missed out on two or three properties and they find another one they like, they really don’t want to miss out so they will go the extra mile to try and secure it.”

The home attracted interest mainly from families.

The four-bedroom house at 108 Nicholas St, Newtown, sold for $2.25m.

Mr Cross said all the interest from younger buyers were from within Geelong.

“There’s definitely been a shortage of good, mid-range family homes for the past 18 months,” he said.

Meanwhile, just one of four expected bidders on a renovated four-bedroom Newtown character home raised a hand at the weekend auction.

The home on the 790sq m property offered four bedrooms and period features combined with modern updates in a sought-after precinct near Pakington St and schools.

The renovated home sold after auction.

The renovation highlights the home’s character features.

The residence at 108 Nicholas St, Newtown, retains original elements including timber floorboards, leadlight windows, picture rails and square-set ceilings, complemented by plantation shutters throughout.

The young family from Melbourne offered a $10,000 advance on the $1.9m vendor bid before the property was passed in, Mr Cross said.

It sold later for $2.25m, well within the $1.9m to $2.05m guide.

Mr Cross said one of the potential buyers was unable to lock in finance ahead of the weekend auction, but the result reflected the level of hesitation still evident for higher end properties.

The post Manifold Heights home smashes price hopes by almost $300k appeared first on realestate.com.au.

A Gold Coast development with more than 250 homes has sold 95 per cent of its units, making more than $375 million in sales as construction tops out.

The Main Beach project, Lagoon by the Drew Group, has sold $20 million in homes over the past 2 months, with each unit at an average sale price of $3.725m.

Across its entire sales campaign, prices at the luxury coastal complex have ranged from as low as $680,000 in 2022 to $7.5m for its most premium penthouse.

Lagoon in Main Beach by the Drew Group recently topped out construction, selling 95 per cent of its 250 units across two high-rise towers.

Sitting on the largest amalgamated site in Main Beach since the 1980s, Drew Group managing director Jon Drew said the company worked hard to give the project’s two towers appropriate space.

“We negotiated with 37 individual owners to amalgamate 4,000 sqm over 7 individual blocks of land,” he said, which allowed them to make 3 basement levels with more than 460 car parks.

“One of the important things I was always conscious of, being a [Gold Coast] local … was that the building didn’t put a strain on its already existing car park network,” he said.

The project has made more than $375 million so far, with prices as low as $680,000 to as high as $7.5m.

The towers were built atop 4,000 sqm of combined land, designed by Plus Architecture to help maximise beach and Hinterland views from each building.

The two buildings, named ‘Sunrise’ and ‘Sunset’, sit at different heights across the suburb’s skyline: designed by Plus Architecture with exterior curves to give residents as much of a view of the surrounding landscape as possible.

“We went into a very detailed design brief about view corridors for both towers, so we wanted to make sure we captured and maximised views from each apartment,” Mr Drew said.

“The design integrated a coastal environment which wasn’t reliant on square edges – it was very involved with natural curves, to emulate coastal sand dunes or waves.”

Six apartments currently remain in the taller Sunrise building, with five apartments left in the smaller Sunset tower.

The majority of apartments across both buildings are two and three-bedroom units, with around five apartments sitting on each floor.

Six apartments remain in Sunrises’s 143 units, with five out of 116 remaining in the Sunset building.

Two of the available homes are Sunrise’s penthouse offerings: one at $6.2m and one at $7.5m, with both featuring two-storeys, four bedrooms and a private pool.

While each building has its own shared spaces, a podium deck connects the two with a lagoon-style pool, shared gym, wellness centre and barbecue facilities.

With close collaboration with Hutchinson Builders, the development is expected to finish up in Q2 of 2026.

Working with Hutchinson Builders on the construction, Mr Drew said the team decided to introduce new facial recognition technology into the building as it was being made.

“If you wanted to go to the beach and leave your keys in the letterbox, you could do so,” he said. “Walk up to the door, and with the facial recognition software, go straight in and get your keys and phone.”

“The completion of the job has just been phenomenal. We’ve had our own [consultants] consistently managing the process, but the team that Hutchies have got on the project is absolutely fantastic.”

Drew Group has marketed its units to both locals and outsiders looking to get into the area: with recent purchases including four from within the Gold Coast, one buyer from Brisbane and one from Sydney’s Southern Highlands.

The fully-funded project is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2026.

The post Massive dual-tower project tops out construction for 250 coastal units appeared first on realestate.com.au.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s proposals to reform federal reverse mortgage programs include seven key recommendations — ranging from the creation of a new securitization option to charging insurance premiums based on the actual amount drawn. 

In October, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Ginnie Mae issued a request for information (RFI) that seeks public feedback on potential changes to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and HECM Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS) programs.

Industry experts have zeroed in on two pressing issues: mortgage insurance and liquidity constraints, which the MBA letter addresses.

“The demand for HECM loans remains strong among seniors. However, overall HECM loan volume has not increased due to overly burdensome aspects of the loan process and the steep upfront costs associated with the loan. These factors discourage many potential borrowers as they evaluate whether a HECM is suitable for their needs,” the MBA stated in a letter dated Nov. 26.

The letter was signed by Pete Mills, the MBA’s senior vice president of residential policy and strategic industry engagement. It was addressed to Frank Cassidy, the FHA’s principal deputy assistant secretary for housing, and Joseph Gormley, Ginnie Mae’s chief operating officer.

Liquidity proposals

Under current rules, Ginnie Mae requires lenders to buy a HECM loan out of an HMBS pool once its outstanding principal balance reaches 98% of the maximum claim amount (MCA).

The MBA is advocating for a new HMBS security that would allow all HECMs at 98% of the MCA to be resecuritized. The association argues that this change would stimulate investor demand and increase guaranty fee revenue.

Separately, the trade group proposes a program to allow private servicers to continue servicing loans after assignment to the FHA — once the 98% MCA threshold is met. This would relieve FHA of servicing losses and operational burdens. Seniors would also avoid the confusion and complexity of servicing transfers. 

“Private servicers would retain servicing fee revenue throughout the life of the loan, strengthening their business models,” the MBA stated. “The competitive nature of the market could encourage entities to pass some or all of the benefits on to borrowers in the form of more advantageous loan pricing.”

Mortgage insurance and more

The MBA also addressed concerns about the HECM mortgage insurance premium (MIP) structure.

The current upfront MIP — 2% of a home’s value — is widely considered excessive. The association proposes basing the upfront MIP on the amount actually drawn rather than the home’s value or the MCA, which the trade group claims would better serve lower-risk homeowners.

To offset changes to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund, the MBA supports a targeted increase to the ongoing MIP, which is currently 0.5% of the outstanding balance. It also recommends a higher upfront MIP for borrowers refinancing from one HECM to another to discourage unnecessary churn.

The MBA urged FHA to increase principal limit factors, noting that low levels of accessible equity discourages some borrowers. It also “strongly opposes” a mandatory Life Expectancy Set-Aside (LESA) requirement for all borrowers, arguing that it should apply only to those at high risk of default.

The trade group calls for modernization of the collateral risk assessment process, including greater use of automated valuation models (AVMs) to reduce costs and delays. And it encourages the broader use of digital tools and expanded remote access to counseling services.

The MBA envisions a market in which both HECM and proprietary reverse mortgage products serve “distinct but necessary roles.” But it agrees that the HECM program needs modernization, so it’s proposing changes that it believes “will help lower costs for consumers, increase adoption, and enhance long-term sustainability.”

HUD is accepting comments on the RFI through Dec. 1.