Business

David Ebrahimzadeh Discusses The Impact Of The Covid Pandemic On The Real Estate Market

Published

5 years ago

April 20, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge effect on the United States economy as a whole and a major impact on the residential real estate market. The pandemic affected rental vacancy rates and prices and home sales in different ways. Major cities and suburbs were affected in vastly different ways.

David Ebrahimzadeh explains the effects that the global pandemic has had on the real estate market across the country, naming some of the problems that have come up and offering an outlook for future months.

Economic Disruption Leads to Distressed Landlords

Many people lost their jobs and were unable to pay their rent or mortgage, though temporary eviction and foreclosure protections did help. There were far fewer protections for landlords, and many landlords are on the verge of losing their properties.

David Ebrahimzadeh advises landlords to carry cash reserves to get through these difficult times. It may be too late for many landlords today, but those who are still holding stable properties should start saving today.

COVID’s Effects on Home Prices

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a noticeable drop in home sales across much of the country and a corresponding drop in prices. Economic uncertainty and stay-at-home orders stalled the home sales market, though as the pandemic eased thanks to the introduction of vaccines, the housing market has begun to recover.

Urban Rental Disruption

As the COVID lockdowns began, many residents of densely populated urban areas began to realize that their environment was putting them in danger of catching the coronavirus. People who had the economic means to do so and the flexibility to work from home began to buy homes in suburban areas 50 to 100 miles from the city they were fleeing.

Rental vacancy rates in the inner cities rose significantly while rental prices sunk to unprecedented levels. This caused real estate prices to soar in areas like Westchester, New York as Manhattan and Brooklyn’s residents departed. This also caused younger renters to be able to move into cities like New York where in the past they would have been priced out. It will be interesting to see whether the flight from the city will persist past the COVID-19 pandemic and whether these fleeing renters will come back after the danger has passed.

Suburban Effects

The primary effect on the suburban real estate market from COVID-19 was the sharp rise in home prices. Since there was a small supply of homes available, competition and prices spiked. The mobile and well-off people who were able to leave the cities could afford to pay higher prices.

As real estate sale prices jumped in the suburbs, rental prices escalated as well. A low supply of affordable rental units was strained as people moved away from the cities.

Overall Economic Movements

The real estate market often falls prey to general economic fluctuations. The major law that governs real estate markets is supply and demand. High demand and a low supply will lead to the highest spikes in prices. This situation happened during the spring and summer of 2020 in many areas of the country.

Unemployment rates soared due to the pandemic, and wages went down. Many people in the hospitality and retail industries lost their jobs entirely, while others were forced to take significant cutbacks in hours.

Inequality in the Housing Market

The COVID pandemic has caused the wealth gap between the haves and have-nots to expand even further. While homeowners with stable jobs saw significant increases in their wealth thanks to burgeoning equity in their homes, the working class largely fell victim to economic disruption.

Possible Outlook for the Real Estate Market

The National Association of Realtors predicts that the economy will rebound in 2021. Interest rates will remain stable while the annual unemployment rate will dip to 6.2 percent. Housing prices across the country may climb by as much as 8 percent in 2021.

It will be fascinating to see whether the short-term effects of the pandemic will continue. If people are continuing to be able to work remotely for a permanent time span, they may stay in the suburbs and rural areas.

Understanding the Housing Market

David Ebrahimzadeh recommends that property owners keep close tabs on the economy and on real estate prices in their area. While it is best to hang onto properties in the long term, it is a good idea to judge whether it is the right time to make an investment purchase.

As COVID fades, its long-lasting impact on the economy may continue. It will take decades before some industries fully recover. The housing market will continue to be affected by economic shifts, unemployment rates, and the mobility of American workers. Taking all of these economic movements into account, this may be a great time to invest in real estate.

Business

Inside the $4.3B Quarter: What’s Fueling Black Banx’s Record Revenues

Published

6 days ago

January 16, 2026

Matthew Wiles

Every quarter brings fresh headlines in fintech, but few make the kind of impact achieved by Black Banx in Q2 2025. The Toronto-based global digital banking group, founded by Michael Gastauer, reported an extraordinary USD 4.3 billion in revenue and a record USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, while improving its cost-to-income ratio to 63%.

These results not only highlight the company’s operational efficiency but also mark a pivotal moment in its journey from challenger to global leader. The big question is: what’s fueling such impressive financial performance?

Customer Growth as the Core Driver

One of the clearest engines of revenue growth is Black Banx’s expanding customer base. By Q2 2025, the platform had reached 84 million clients worldwide, up from 69 million at the end of 2024. This 15 million net gain in six months demonstrates both the attractiveness of its services and the scalability of its model.

Unlike traditional banks, which rely heavily on branch expansion, Black Banx leverages digital-first onboarding that allows customers to open accounts within minutes using just a smartphone. This approach is especially effective in regions underserved by legacy institutions, where access to affordable financial tools is in high demand.

More customers don’t just mean higher transaction volumes—they generate a compounding effect where network size, brand trust, and service adoption reinforce one another.

Real-Time Payments and Cross-Border Solutions

A major contributor to Q2 revenues is the platform’s real-time payments infrastructure. Black Banx enables instant cross-border transfers across its 28 supported fiat currencies and multiple cryptocurrencies, helping both individuals and businesses bypass the traditional bottlenecks of international banking.

For freelancers, SMEs, and multinational clients, this means faster liquidity, reduced foreign exchange costs, and simplified global operations. The demand for real-time financial services is growing rapidly—Juniper Research projects global real-time payments turnover to hit USD 58 trillion by 2028—and Black Banx is strategically positioned to capture a significant share of this market.

Crypto Integration as a Revenue Stream

Another key revenue driver is crypto integration. While many traditional institutions remain hesitant, Black Banx embraced digital assets early and has built infrastructure to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Lightning Network. In Q2 2025, 20% of all transactions on the platform were crypto-based, reflecting strong customer appetite for hybrid banking services that bridge fiat and digital assets.

Revenue comes not only from transaction fees but also from value-added services like crypto-to-fiat conversion, staking yields (4–12% APY), and blockchain-enabled payments. For customers in markets with unstable currencies, these services act as a financial lifeline, further expanding the platform’s relevance.

AI-Powered Efficiency and Risk Management

Record revenues would be less impressive if costs ballooned at the same rate. But Black Banx has proven adept at balancing growth with efficiency. Its cost-to-income ratio improved to 63% in Q2, down from 69% a year earlier, thanks to heavy reliance on AI-powered automation.

AI now drives fraud detection, compliance, and customer onboarding—areas where traditional banks often struggle with cost inefficiencies. By automating these processes, Black Banx can process millions of transactions securely while maintaining profitability at scale. This level of efficiency is rare in fintech, where high growth often comes at the expense of margins.

Regional Expansion and Untapped Markets

Geography also plays a role in fueling revenues. Much of the Q2 growth came from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America—regions where demand for mobile-first banking continues to soar. In 2024 alone, Black Banx reported a 32% increase in SME clients from the Middle East and Africa, signaling the strength of its positioning in underserved markets.

By extending services to populations previously excluded from formal banking—migrant workers, rural communities, and small businesses—Black Banx taps into vast pools of latent demand. The strategy proves that financial inclusion and profitability are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing.

Diversified Revenue Streams

Another factor behind Q2’s record revenues is Black Banx’s diversified business model. Income is not tied to a single service but spread across multiple streams, including:

Transaction fees from cross-border transfers and payments.
Crypto trading and exchange services.
Premium account features for high-net-worth clients.
Corporate services for SMEs and international businesses.

This diversification insulates the company against volatility in any single segment, creating stable revenue growth even in shifting market conditions.

Michael Gastauer’s Strategic Blueprint

Behind these results is Michael Gastauer’s long-term strategy: scale aggressively but with efficiency, innovation, and inclusion at the core. His vision has always been to create a borderless financial ecosystem, and Q2 2025’s performance is evidence that this vision is not only achievable but sustainable.

By balancing mass-market accessibility with premium features, and by blending fiat with digital assets, Gastauer has positioned Black Banx as a category-defining player in global finance.

The Road Ahead: Toward 100 Million Clients

Looking forward, the company’s goal of reaching 100 million customers by the end of 2025 will likely be the next catalyst for revenue growth. More customers mean more transactions, more data insights, and more opportunities to refine and expand its service offering.

If current momentum holds, the USD 4.3 billion quarterly revenue milestone could be just the beginning of an even larger growth story. The challenge will be ensuring systems scale securely while maintaining trust in an environment where privacy and compliance are paramount.

A Record That Signals More to Come

Black Banx’s Q2 2025 performance—USD 4.3 billion in revenue, USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, 84 million clients worldwide, and a lean 63% cost-to-income ratio—is more than a financial milestone. It is a signal of how the future of banking is being rewritten by platforms that are borderless, crypto-inclusive, and data-driven.

What fueled this record-breaking quarter is not one innovation but a combination of strategies—scalable onboarding, real-time payments, crypto integration, AI efficiency, and expansion into underserved regions. Together, they form a model that doesn’t just challenge traditional banking but actively builds the foundation for global dominance.

For Black Banx, the road ahead is clear: the $4.3 billion quarter is not an endpoint but a launchpad for even greater scale and profitability.