Real estate valuation technology company Clear Capital will cut 27% of its workforce across its offices in the U.S. due to the slowdown in the housing market, according to the firm.
Established in 2001, the Nevada-headquartered company delivers solutions to modernize the appraisal process, which may take days to weeks to complete, or even longer during booming markets.
According to its website, the company has offices in Reno, Nevada; Truckee and Roseville, in California; and Bloomington, Minnesota.
A spokesperson for Clear Capital did not specify how many employees will be affected and where the layoffs will occur. At the end of 2021, the company said it had 1,400 employees. Posts from former employees on social media indicate that the layoffs started last week.
In California, 108 staffers at the Roseville office will be involuntarily terminated on Dec. 16 (or during the 14 days following that date), according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the state’s Employment Development Department. (The company did not appear to file notifications in the other two states.)
TechCrunch first reported the layoffs on Friday.
Real estate valuation analysts are most affected by the cut in Roseville, with 25 out of a job. That was followed by appraisers (22 in total) and customer support specialists (16 in total), the WARN notice shows.
According to Duane Andrews, CEO of Clear Capital, the company is restructuring all divisions to reduce expenses and support the future strategy, which will allow the company to refocus the business on key areas and ensure they are on track for sustainable growth.
“The impact of a rising interest rate environment in the mortgage industry has resulted in a significant decrease in volume from our customers, which has forced us to make some difficult decisions. We are working closely with each employee during this transition,” Andrews said in a statement.
Clear Capital claims that by using its desktop appraisal solutions, desktop appraisals can be completed as much as 50% faster than a traditional appraisal.
In July, the company rolled out two application programming interfaces (APIs) that aim to make adopting and deploying modern valuation solutions easier, ultimately closing loans faster. The APIs connect directly to existing systems through a single integration for lenders, investors and system providers.
In January, Clear Capital launched its photo review product, ClearPhoto, a system that automates collateral underwriting in compliance with internal credit policies and government-sponsored enterprise guidelines. The tool uses computer vision technology to highlight the right files automatically so underwriters can make more efficient and informed decisions, according to the company.