- Flyhomes, a Seattle-based startup reinventing the home buying process, announced it raised $141 million in a new round of funding
Flyhomes — a Seattle-based startup that is reinventing the home buying process — announced it raised $141 million in a new round of funding, of which $21 million was in the form of Series B equity financing led by Canvas Ventures with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz. And $120 million in debt financing had come from multiple lenders, including Genesis Capital — which originates loans on behalf of Goldman Sachs Bank USA.
This round of funding will be used for fueling the growth of products designed to make the home buying process as painless as possible. And Flyhomes is also announcing the launch of its latest product called the Trade Up program.
And Flyhomes is going to leverage the new capital in several ways including scaling up the Trade Up program to remove friction and hassle for homeowners trying to buy a new home, empowering homebuyers across the U.S. to make a cash offer on their dream home, expanding operations to new cities on both coasts, adding new services and integrated technology solutions, and hiring to more than double headcount in 2019.
The Trade Up program is available to homebuyers in Seattle and San Francisco and it frees current homeowners to shop for their next home without worries about contingencies or timing. Plus Flyhomes also provides a guaranteed and competitive price for the home a buyer currently owns thus eliminating the risk and uncertainty of having two mortgages.
Flyhomes also lists homes to get the maximum value for the customer while providing a 100% guarantee that the home will sell within 90 days or they will buy it. If Flyhomes sells it for more than that price, then they’ll hand over the proceeds from the sale. And now buyers who work with Flyhomes can make an all-cash offer on their new home—using Flyhomes’ cash—and move in before listing their current home.
“For most people, a home is the single biggest purchase they’ll ever make, and the traditional process of making that purchase is fraught with obstacles, stress, and worry. We believe our approach—which supports homebuyers with a vertically integrated product offering—is the future of real estate,” said Flyhomes CEO and Co-Founder Tushar Garg. “Because we do everything from touring homes to funding their purchase, we have greatly simplified the process for buyers. We are thrilled to partner with Canvas Ventures and a16z on this investment, which represents a significant vote of confidence in our mission and ambitious goals for the future.”
Ever since launching in 2015, Flyhomes has seen rapid growth including helping over 1,000 clients close on over $1 billion in homes bought and sold, winning homes for clients 68% more than traditional brokerage firms, more than doubling Bay Area sales between the last half of 2018 and the first half of 2019, and closing over 300 competitive mortgages in less than a year since launching Flyhomes Mortgage in June 2018.
“We have strong conviction in Flyhomes’ ability to reinvent real estate, a process that has seen little innovation in our lifetimes,” added Canvas Ventures partner Mike Ghaffary. “Flyhomes offers a full-service real estate resource unlike anything currently available, and allows consumers to be more competitive in the home buying market. Their all-cash offer not only helps people buy a home, but it also helps them win over 68% more than traditional brokerage firms. The new Trade Up program from Flyhomes also now provides a minimum guaranteed price on an old home to give consumers the confidence to buy a new home they can afford.”
Flyhomes was founded by Garg and Stephen Lane in 2015. Garg was previously chief of staff at Microsoft. And Lane was previously a finance manager at Microsoft.
