Homebase, a Vietnam-based real estate technology platform, said Monday it has raised $30 million in equity and debt led by global investors including Y Combinator, Partech Partners, Goodwater Capital, Ace and Company, Emles Advisors, and Foundamental.
Michael Seibel, Chief Executive Officer of Y Combinator, and operators and executives from SoFi, Opendoor, Republic, Microsoft, Instacart, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Binance, also participated in the round.
Homebase said in a statement that the company will use the funding to expand its market leadership in Southeast Asia’s Proptech industry and get one step closer in its mission of empowering homeownership for 100,000 families across Southeast Asia, one family at a time.
In the coming months, Homebase is set to further develop its proprietary technology, launch additional partnerships with real estate developers and agents, and increase its talent base, it said.
“Rising prices and strict mortgage criteria make buying a home extremely difficult in Southeast Asia–Homebase is creating a new financial path and for the first time, giving underserved consumers a new way to own a home.
“We’ve seen many innovative Proptech companies at YC from around the world, and Homebase is among those leading towards a significantly better and more customer-centric solution versus current options, and radically transforms accessibility for aspiring homeowners,” said Michael Siebel, Chief Executive Officer of Y Combinator and Homebase investor.
Homebase was founded by JunYuan Tan and Phillip An alongside a management team that has 50+ years of shared relevant experience and comes from institutions like McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Grab, Harvard, Stanford, and MIT.
It is a real estate technology company that makes homeownership accessible across Southeast Asia by providing an alternative to traditional mortgage financing. Its flagship co-investment product buys homes upfront for clients, allows them to move in and buy back anytime.
The startup’s other strategic investors include VinaCapital Ventures, Divvy Homes Co-Founder and Ex-Chief Executive Officer Brian Ma; Zerodown Ex-Chief Operating Officer Troy Steckenrider III; and 99.Co Founder and Chief Executive Officer Darius Cheung.
According to Homebase, Southeast Asia is the world’s fastest-growing real estate market, yet becoming one of the least affordable – it takes longer than two decades for the average millennial to save up for their first home in Vietnam.
Cited real estate consultancy CBRE, it said the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the need for more innovative, empathetic pathways to homeownership, as traditional bank mortgage options now require loan equities up to 50 percent, with 13 percent yearly interest rates coupled with growing property prices have increasingly placed homeownership out of reach for anyone other than high net worth individuals with stable incomes.