Real Matters TSE: REAL reported fiscal second-quarter 2026 results that management said extended the momentum seen in the first quarter, with higher transaction volumes, new client launches, and improved operating leverage across its U.S. Appraisal and U.S. Title businesses.
On the call, Chief Executive Officer Brian Lang said consolidated revenue rose 27% year-over-year to CAD 47.2 million, while consolidated net revenue increased 35% to CAD 13.6 million. The company posted consolidated adjusted EBITDA of CAD 0.9 million, its “strongest consolidated adjusted EBITDA result in seven quarters,” compared with an adjusted EBITDA loss of CAD 1.9 million in the prior-year period, which management attributed to revenue growth and operating leverage in the U.S. segments.
Market backdrop and volume trends
Chief Financial Officer Rodrigo Pinto described a quarter that began with “robust momentum” in the U.S. mortgage market, supported by declining interest rates and narrower mortgage spreads, before activity slowed in March as “geopolitical tension surfaced and interest rates edged higher.” He said the 30-year mortgage rate opened the quarter at 6.15%, reached an intra-quarter low of 5.98%, and then reversed to close the quarter at 6.4%.
Pinto said the modest mid-quarter decline in rates helped drive growth in refinance originations “although from a low base,” while purchase market origination volumes saw only modest growth, consistent with industry estimates. He added that the average 10-year yield and 30-year mortgage spread narrowed to below 200 basis points during the quarter.
Lang also pointed to what he called a “considerable base of prospective refinance candidates,” noting there are “approximately 13 million mortgages with interest rates exceeding 6%,” and that mortgages above 6% now outnumber those below 3%.
U.S. Appraisal: revenue growth and margin expansion
In U.S. Appraisal, Pinto said second-quarter revenue increased 26% year-over-year to CAD 33.7 million. Revenue from mortgage originations rose 24%, while home equity revenue increased 30% and represented 26% of segment revenue. “Other revenue” increased 61% year-over-year, which Pinto attributed to continued net market share gains.
U.S. Appraisal net revenue increased 18% to CAD 8.6 million, though net revenue margin fell 170 basis points year-over-year. Pinto said the margin decline was “primarily due to the distribution of transactions volumes as it relates to geographies, clients, and product mix.” Operating expenses increased 6% to CAD 5.0 million, driven mainly by higher salaries and benefits.
Adjusted EBITDA in U.S. Appraisal rose 41% to CAD 3.6 million, and adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 670 basis points to 41.1%. Lang said the company maintained “leading positions on lender scorecards” and highlighted operating leverage as net revenue increased.
U.S. Title: rapid origination growth and narrowing losses
Real Matters’ U.S. Title segment continued to scale, with Lang stating origination volumes rose 268% year-over-year, supported by market share gains, new clients, and “moderate refinance market tailwinds.” He said refinance origination volumes in the quarter were equivalent to the total volume processed in each of fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024.
Pinto reported U.S. Title revenue increased 127% to CAD 5.1 million, driven mainly by refinance origination revenue, which rose 271% year-over-year. Home equity revenue increased 54%, which he said reflected market share gains and growth in reverse mortgage transactions with new clients.
U.S. Title net revenue rose 176% to CAD 3.3 million, and net revenue margin improved to 63.3% from 52.1% a year earlier. Pinto attributed the margin improvement to higher volume serviced that “diluted our fixed costs” and a higher proportion of orders that closed. Operating expenses increased 12% year-over-year due primarily to additional hires to accelerate deployment of new title clients.
The segment recorded an adjusted EBITDA loss of CAD 0.4 million, improving from a CAD 2.1 million loss a year earlier. Lang said this put “the path to profitability in this segment well within our sights.” Pinto added that “more than 85% of incremental net revenue generated during the quarter flowed to the bottom line,” reflecting operating leverage as volumes scale.
Client wins, cross-sell strategy, and capacity needs
Lang said the company launched seven new clients during the quarter, including one of the largest non-bank servicers in U.S. Title, and also launched three new clients in Canada. He added that after quarter-end, Real Matters launched its third Tier 1 lender and another top 100 lender in the U.S. Title business.
Asked about the drivers behind U.S. Title wins, Lang said “a good proportion of the new sales” were cross-sells from the company’s appraisal client base, leveraging what he described as “performance equity” built as a top appraisal provider. He also said the company has been expanding beyond that base through investments in sales, citing the newly launched non-bank servicer as an example of a customer that is “outside” the appraisal book and “a brand-new customer of ours.”
On competitive dynamics, Lang said many bank wins involve taking share from incumbent vendors, while some non-banks may have captive solutions and are looking to add outside vendors. He also said intermittent refinance surges over the last 18 months helped spur customer urgency, alongside added sales talent, which he said helped “unlocking this pipeline.”
Management also discussed capacity. Pinto said the company previously described having 30% capacity in appraisal and “2x capacity in title,” but that “we used that idle capacity that we had in the system” and the business is now “at capacity.” He said increasing capacity will depend on volume ramp as clients are onboarded, and that investments could reduce the net revenue-to-adjusted EBITDA flow-through rate in the near term, though he expects adjusted EBITDA margins to improve over time as revenue grows faster than operating expenses.
In response to questions on whether capacity investments would impact net revenue margins, Pinto said there would be “no impact in net revenue margin,” characterizing the effect as primarily related to operating expense and adjusted EBITDA margin timing.
Canada results and balance sheet
In Canada, Pinto said revenue was CAD 8.4 million, consistent with the prior year, as lower mortgage market volumes were “largely offset by foreign exchange.” Net revenue rose 5% to CAD 1.7 million, supported by improved net revenue margin that reached a record 19.9%. Adjusted EBITDA increased to CAD 1.1 million, while adjusted EBITDA margin decreased slightly due to “modestly higher operating expenses.”
Real Matters ended the quarter with no debt and cash of CAD 41.7 million as of March 31, 2026. Pinto attributed the decrease in cash from the prior quarter mainly to timing of collections and working capital changes.
Looking ahead, Lang said the company is “optimistic about the improving fundamentals in the U.S. mortgage market” and expects its focus on client growth and market share expansion to continue, while the company prepares to invest to support scaling—particularly in U.S. Title—given what management described as rising client and pipeline momentum.
About Real Matters TSE: REAL
Real Matters is a leading network management services provider for the mortgage lending and insurance industries. Real Matters' platform combines its proprietary technology and network management capabilities with tens of thousands of independent qualified field professionals to create an efficient marketplace for the provision of mortgage lending and insurance industry services. Our clients include top 100 mortgage lenders in the U.S. and some of the largest banks and insurance companies in Canada.
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