Real estate tech startup Flyhomes has bought Loftium, another Seattle-based startup that provides unconventional assistance to homebuyers.
The deal, which was announced Monday in a blog post by Loftium CEO and co-founder Yifan Zhang, will allow the company to keep its 11 employees and branding, with no changes for customers. Neither company disclosed financial details of the deal.
GeekWire first reported the news.
"With our companies combined, we will be able to improve upon our offerings, creating a streamlined purchasing process for Host to Own residents via Flyhomes, and bringing Loftium’s expertise to benefit Flyhomes customers as well," Zhang said. "We’ll have more to share in the coming months!"
Loftium's host-to-own program launched a year ago, five years after the company began providing down payment assistance to homebuyers who rented out space and split the Airbnb profits with Loftium. Under its year-old program, Loftium acquires the house for the homebuyer, makes space for a tenant and takes 40% of the monthly rent. Within three years, the homebuyer can purchase the home from Loftium with a 3% to 5% down payment.
"Adam (Stelle) and I founded Loftium because of our belief that home ownership was becoming increasingly out of reach, and that short-term rental income can be a powerful tool for unlocking the benefits of home ownership for more people," Zhang said.
Flyhomes provides a more traditional experience for homebuyers. It helps consumers present all-cash offers when buying a home so they can stand out from other buyers, and after they move into their new homes, they can transition to a long-term mortgage, either through Flyhomes or an outside lender.
The company raised a $150 million series C round in June 2021 and by January 2022 had roughly 820 employees. But since then, Flyhomes went through two rounds of layoffs. In July 2022, the company said it was laying off about 20% of its staff. In November it said it laid off more employees but didn't specify how many.
Both times, the company said the reasons for the job cuts were a cooling housing market and recession conditions.
