HomeLight explained

HomeLight
Founder:	Drew Uher, CEO
Industry:	Real estate
Hq Location:	Scottsdale, Arizona
Services:	Brokerage Services

HomeLight is a real estate technology company^[1] founded in San Francisco, CA and based in Scottsdale, AZ.^[2]

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, after he and his wife had difficulty researching agents based on needs or qualifications.^[5] The business, which was originally aimed at buyers, focuses on sellers.^[6]

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.^{[7] [8]} 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.^[9]
• 2017 The company had raised a total of $15.5 million from investors.^[10] In August, HomeLight raised $40 million in Series B funding in a round led by Menlo Ventures with participation from Citi Ventures,^[11] as well as previous investors Zeev Ventures, Group 11, Crosslink Capital, and Innovation Endeavors.
• 2018 In January, HomeLight announced a partnership with Yelp to add data from HomeLight's algorithm to Yelp's Home Services listings.^[12]
• 2019 In July, HomeLight acquired Eave, a digital mortgage startup. ^[13] In November HomeLight secured a total of $160 million from Zeev Ventures, Group 11, Menlo Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Stereo Capital, and others.^[14]
• 2020 In August, the company acquired Disclosures.io and introduced a new service to assist real estate agents called HomeLight Listing Management.^[15]
• 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.^[16] In early September, HomeLight was valued at $1.6 billion.^[17]

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.^{[10] [18]} The algorithm ranks agents by price range, neighborhood, property type and experience level.^{[19] [7]}

Notes and References

1. News: Friedman . Nicole . Looking to Buy a House? Try Throwing in Free Frozen Yogurt, Concert Tickets . 16 March 2022 . . 10 March 2022.
2. News: Calvey . Mark . HomeLight is hitting the road — in more ways than one . 16 February 2022 . . 24 August 2021.
3. News: Lerner . Michelle . Two new online services are like Priceline.com for home sellers . 18 January 2022 . . 12 February 2019.
4. News: Bahney . Anna . All-cash offers are king in this hysterical real estate market. Here's what you need to know . 11 January 2022 . CNN . 2 June 2021.
5. Web site: HomeLight Raises $40M In Series B Funding To Help You Find A Listing Agent. Omri . Barzilay. August 15, 2017. Forbes.
6. Web site: Don't Disrupt; Work With Existing Forces. Alastair . Dryburgh. January 6, 2018. Forbes.
7. Web site: HomeLight Raises $3M More To Help Homebuyers And Sellers Find Real Estate Agents. Anthony . Ha. February 4, 2015. Tech Crunch.
8. Web site: Real estate matchmaker identifies top Sacramento agents based on data. Bob . Shallit. The Sacramento Bee.
9. Web site: Real estate marketplace HomeLight closes $11 million deal. April 18, 2016. Sindy . Nanclare. Venture Beat.
10. Web site: Homelight raises $40 million to help home sellers find the best real estate agents. Ryan Lawler. August 15, 2017. Tech Crunch.
11. Web site: S.F. startup raises $40 million to rank residential real estate brokers. Roland . Li. August 15, 2017. San Francisco Business Times.
12. Web site: HomeLight Partners with Yelp to Provide Data-Driven Insights on Real Estate Agents. January 9, 2018. Business Wire.
13. Web site: HomeLight Acquires Eave, a Digital Mortgage Lender, to Launch Mortgage Services in 6 U.S. States. finance.yahoo.com. en-US. Yahoo!. 2020-05-05.
14. Web site: HomeLight raises $109 million for AI that matches home buyers with real estate agents. 2019-11-05. Venture Beat. en-US. 2020-05-05.
15. News: Azevedo . Mary Ann . HomeLight closes on $100M Series D at a $1.6B valuation as revenue surges . 16 March 2022 . TechCrunch . 2 September 2021.
16. News: Kamin . Debra . Real Estate Industry Works to Change Its Ways . 10 January 2022 . . 17 August 2021.
17. News: HomeLight Nabs $1.6 Billion Valuation in Zeev Ventures-Led Round . 10 January 2022 . . 2 September 2021.
18. Web site: Do seller-Realtor matching services work? We put two to the test. Susan Taylor . Martin. December 28, 2017. TBO.
19. Web site: HomeLight aims to change the real estate business with Google funding. J. . O'Dell. November 14, 2012. Venture Beat.