Many real estate technology companies aim to compete with or replace real estate agents. However, Place, a startup providing technology and business services to support real estate agents, has raised $100 million in a Series A round at a valuation exceeding $1 billion.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s growth equity division led the investment, with participation from 3L Capital.
This round is noteworthy because Place had not previously raised external capital. The company has been profitable since its first year of operation. In 2020, Place reported over $85 million in revenue and more than $11 million in profit. In 2021, the company expects revenue to exceed $150 million.
Place is not a brokerage. It describes itself as a “broker-agnostic technology and business services solution” that collaborates with top real estate producers from various independent brokerage brands in the U.S. and Canada.
Place aims to help real estate agents become business owners, regardless of their brokerage affiliation. Over 10,000 agents use its technology. The company targets the top 20% of agents, who serve the majority of consumers buying, selling, or investing in real estate. Co-founders and co-CEOs Ben Kinney and Chris Suarez have two decades of experience as licensed real estate agents.
Place provides agents with administrative support, marketing, lead generation, accounting, legal, human resources, back-office infrastructure, and training. This allows agents to focus on helping buyers and sellers. As a result, agents using Place’s platform have seen significant increases in production, sales volume, agent productivity, and profitability.
“Our technology platform offers top agents all the tools and services they need to run their business in one place,” Suarez told TechCrunch. “Our goal is to simplify the homeownership process for both agents and consumers.”
The company also offers property search, mortgage, title, and insurance services to provide a comprehensive service to buyers.
Place offers unique benefits to real estate agents, such as health insurance for agents who make an average of two sales per month, stock purchase plans, and revenue sharing for agents who recruit others. This approach aims to help with recruiting and retaining agents.
In the luxury real estate sector, Place supports brands such as The Bucher Group, Elizabeth Olcott and Associates, The Level Up Group, PDX Property Group, and Spinelli Residential Group.
Place plans to use its new funding to expand its products and services, invest in technology, and hire more staff. Currently, the company has 300 employees, up from 200 at the end of 2020. It aims to increase its headcount to between 700 and 1,000 in 2022. Place also plans to enter new markets and deepen its presence in existing ones, currently operating in 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada.
Paul Pate, a vice president in Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s growth equity division, noted that Place’s software, initially developed for top agent teams, has shown strong commercial success under its Brivity brand. He added that Place recognized top agents need more than just software; they need a full-stack solution to manage business complexities.
“Agents don’t need to leave their current brokerage to join Place,” Pate said.
Place is not alone in this sector. In late June, Side, another real estate technology company, raised over $50 million in a funding round that more than doubled its valuation to $2.5 billion. Side is preparing for an IPO.
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By Proptechbuzz
By Ravi Kumar
