A real estate technology firm that helps modernize the real estate transaction process has expanded to Tampa, expecting to hire more than 100 in the region by the end of the year and 500 across the state.
HomeLight, a San Francisco-based company founded in 2012, had its offshoot HomeLight Closing Services move to a 3,500-square-foot office space in Westshore Concourse Centers in July.
While the company plans to hire 500 total employees across the state, Tampa was ultimately chosen as a hub for the company versus other Florida cities due to its diverse talent pool and central location.
"Tampa has a lot going for it — it not only is an easy corridor into the rest of Florida but also serves adjacent states," Ankur Bansal, president of HomeLight Closing Services, said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Business Journal. "We were considering various candidates across Florida, and Tampa has a pretty good, diverse, talent pool. It's not one-dimensional; there's a lot of universities."
He added there will likely be Floridian "nodes" in cities including Miami and Jacksonville, to further help the Florida growth.
The company provides real estate agents with tools and technology to help homebuyers and sellers at every step of the real estate transaction process, which has been an increasing need during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.
"One of the big post-Covid dynamics we'll see is the fundamental mechanics get modernized," Bansal said. "The next 10 years will focus on the mechanics, which is how quickly you can sell and buy. And that's where our bread and butter is; we’re creating products to serve and help the average homebuyer compete with the all-cash investors."
HomeLight was last valued at $498 million, according to PitchBook data. The company's CEO Drew Uher told Bloomberg in a June interview the company is set to hit more than $300 million in revenue this year.
HomeLight Closing Services launched in 2019. Its new Tampa space has the option to quadruple as its Tampa and Florida footprint expand.
"During Covid is when we started rapidly expanding, because our [services] were in great demand," Bansal said, adding the company has grown 500% in the state in the last year. "While most title and escrow companies shut down, because of our centralized model, we continued to work, gaining a lot of market share and Florida is a prime example."
