A Cincinnati real estate startup has reached $10 million in sales volume in its first year.
Homeshake, a real estate company that replaces the traditional model of agents and commissions with a peer-to-peer platform, has generated $10 million in sales volume since June 2020.
Growth continues to accelerate for the startup. Last quarter was Homeshake's best since its launch last January. New customers grew by 183% year-over-year, and the company has seen more deals in the first half of 2021 than all of 2020.
“People are ready for this,” Homeshake founder and CEO Nick Rabin said. “I think the biggest takeaway from our first year of success is that with the right tools and support, buying or selling a home has never been easier.”
In May 2020, the Courier reported the company had nearly 50 active home profiles. Today, there are about 400 home profiles.
In February 2021, Homeshake expanded beyond Hamilton County into Butler, Warren and Clermont counties. Rabin said there are plans to move into Northern Kentucky, additional strategic markets in Ohio and other states.
He did not disclose specific dates for the expansion, but he expects Homeshake will be in Northern Kentucky and other Ohio markets by the end of the year. Rabin could not disclose where the other markets in Ohio or the U.S. will be at this time.
In May 2020, Homeshake was focused on the supply side of the real estate market but has since widened its scope to both home buyers and sellers. Rabin said the company had more than 500 homes claimed in roughly 12 months.
“The transaction volume indicates that buyers are searching for inventory and Homeshake’s exclusive inventory gives them an option they didn't have before,” he said.
Rabin said the company is progressing towards its goal of grabbing 10% of the Greater Cincinnati home sales market, expecting to reach the milestone in a matter of a few years, or sooner.
The startup’s momentum will continue with the recent release of Homeshake’s new software, according to Rabin.
While specifics about the software are not yet available, Rabin said it will simplify the home sale from start to finish in a "revolutionary way," as buyers and sellers can directly communicate and complete a transaction on one platform. Sellers can claim, market and sell their homes in just a few clicks. Buyers can search, tour and make an offer. The software has been under development since last year and was released last week.
To support the startup’s expansion, Homeshake has hired a chief technology officer on an interim basis and a team of software engineers. There are 10 people on Homeshake’s team, but Rabin said the company will be looking to add employees in customer service and marketing after expanding.
The Cincinnati-based startup was co-founded by Rabin and Jonathan Bennie. Rabin took the idea behind Homeshake to startup catalyst group Cintrifuse in March 2019, where industry and technology experts helped to develop and study concepts that address barriers in the traditional real estate sales model.
The result was a model where customers do not pay anything unless there is a transaction, there are no upfront costs, no hidden fees and no commissions.
Homeshake joined the University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub in June 2019, where Rabin and the team started building the business. Consumer interviews and testing began in fall 2019 and the company had a soft launch in January 2020, leaving the 1819 Innovation Hub the following April. Homeshake was named one of Cincy Inno's Startups to Watch in 2021.
