Its products and services include an online platform for matching real-estate agencies with buyers and sellers,[3] making cash offers to buy houses and, connecting sellers with buyers willing to make quick cash offers.[4]
History
HomeLight was founded in 2012 by Drew Uher, the company's CEO,[5][6][7] after he and his wife had difficulty researching agents based on needs or qualifications.[6] The business, which was originally aimed at buyers, focuses on sellers.[8]
In February 2015, the company received $3 million in funding led by Bullpen Ventures, with participation from Montage Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Krillion Ventures, 500 Startups, and Western Technology Investment.[9][10] The company has seen growth while increasing funding and engaging in mergers and acquisitions:
2016 HomeLight received $11 million in funding from Zeev Ventures, and Group 11.[11]
2017 The company had raised a total of $15.5 million from investors.[5] In August, HomeLight raised $40 million in Series B funding in a round led by Menlo Ventures with participation from Citi Ventures,[5][12] as well as previous investors Zeev Ventures, Group 11, Crosslink Capital, and Innovation Endeavors.[6]
2018 In January, HomeLight announced a partnership with Yelp to add data from HomeLight's algorithm to Yelp's Home Services listings.[13]
2019 In July, HomeLight acquired Eave, a digital mortgage startup. [14] In November HomeLight secured a total of $160 million from Zeev Ventures, Group 11, Menlo Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Stereo Capital, and others.[15]
2020 In August, the company acquired Disclosures.io and introduced a new service to assist real estate agents called HomeLight Listing Management.[16]
2021 HomeLight partnered with the National Association of Real Estate Brokers to launch the Black Real Estate Agent Program, which provides stipends and mentorship for aspiring African-American real estate professionals to help them start their careers in the industry.[17] In early September, HomeLight was valued at $1.6 billion.[18]
Products and services
HomeLight's algorithm ranks agents according to data including sales and agent records from over 100 sources and approximately 30 million transactions nationwide.[5][7] The algorithm ranks agents by price range, neighborhood, property type and experience level.[19][9]
