Better Takes 18K SF at 1 World Trade Center

Mortgage lender Better Home & Finance will move within the World Trade Center to the 80th floor of 1 World Trade Center, Commercial Observer has learned. 

The company, often known as Better.com, signed a sublease with artificial intelligence firm ASAPP to occupy 18,341 square feet at 1 World Trade Center through April 2030, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.

The sublease took effect on Jan. 1, and Better will relocate from 3 World Trade Center, the source said. Asking rent was $65 per square foot.

Better was represented by David Berke and Brett Stein from Newmark (NMRK), while  JLL (JLL)’s Andrew Coe, Margaux Kelleher and Jakob Cohn brokered the deal for ASAPP. 

Newmark declined to comment and JLL did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Better was founded in 2014 by CEO Vishal Garg after his first attempt to purchase a home showed him how flawed the process of home buying can be, according to the company’s website. So Better provides a completely online way to apply for or refinance a mortgage, among other services. 

The Durst Organization and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s 1 World Trade Center is also known as The Freedom Tower, as it stands at 1,776 feet tall and is located on the same site where the Twin Towers stood before the 9/11 terror attacks,  according to The Gottesman Libraries. It began to welcome tenants in November 2014.

ASAPP moved into 18,366 square feet on the 80th floor in 2017 and expanded by 10,691 square feet in 2019.

Other notable tenants of the building include media company Newsweek, magazine publisher Conde Nast, and insurance provider New York Life. 

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.