HomePace, a proptech that helps homeowners to access their home equity without additional debt or interest payments, announced today raising a $7 million Series A led by Lennar’s corporate venture arm LENX, according to a press release shared with FinLedger.
The company provides homeowners with cash in exchange for sharing a portion of the gains or losses in their home’s value, which it says gives owners access to their home equity without additional debt or interest payments.
Prior investors Bling Capital, NextView Ventures and Ride Ventures also participated in the funding round. HomePace says the funds will drive expansion to new markets through community bank partnerships and will be used to launch a new homebuyer solution.
HomePace says this solution will provide homebuyers with funds upfront for their down payment when purchasing a home, in exchange for sharing a portion of the home’s future value.
It also noted that this new product will “be accelerated by HomePace’s alignment with LENX which drives a focused strategy within Lennar to integrate technology solutions across the homebuilding industry.”
Eric Feder, President of LENX and member of HomePace’s Board of Directors stated, “We have been closely monitoring this emerging landscape of home equity investments and recognize it is an innovative way for homeowners to access record levels of home equity in a non-intrusive manner.”
“We look forward to working with HomePace’s founding team to expand the business into the new home market as an affordable instrument to offer to our homebuyers in the years to come,” he added.
The growing relationship is notable considering Lennar is one of the largest home construction companies in the U.S., ranking second in total homes sold in 2021. The company’s Financial Services segment also provides mortgage financing, title and closing services for its homes and originates mortgage loans for commercial real estate properties.
Founded in 2020, HomePace’s founding team includes two previous BlackRock directors (CEO Joe Cianciolo and COO Megan Graf) a former Goldman Sachs executive (CIO Jeboah (Bo) Joerg). The company also noted that Cianciolo and Graf were early employees at FutureAdvisor, a digital wealth management platform later acquired by BlackRock.
In other recent proptech news, Gravy launched from beta and announced a $2.6 million seed round to help renters save money for their first home. TheGuarantors also raised a $50 million Series C and stated plan to launch new financing and rental products.