Vietnam proptech firm takes home $30m in YC-backed round

Homebase, a proptech firm based in Vietnam, has raised US$30 million in equity and debt funding in a round that saw participation from Y Combinator.

Phillip An (left) and JunYuan Tan, co-founders of Homebase / Photo credit: Homebase

Partech Partners, Goodwater Capital, Ace & Company, Emles Advisors, and Foundamental also invested, along with Michael Seibel, CEO of Y Combinator. Operators and executives from SoFi, Opendoor, Republic, Microsoft, Instacart, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Binance also took part in the fundraise.

Homebase’s new backers joined its existing strategic investors like VinaCapital Ventures; Brian Ma, co-founder and former CEO of Divvy Homes; Troy Steckenrider III, former chief operating officer of Zerodown; and 99.co founder and CEO Darius Cheung.

Since its establishment in 2019, Homebase has aimed to make it easier for Southeast Asians, especially urban millennials, to own homes.

The Vietnamese startup offers a flexible alternative to traditional mortgage financing, which generally charges high interest rates. Homebase allows buyers to pay a minimum 20% deposit, and then it will co-invest with the customer to buy the house. 

Following that, buyers can pay the startup a fixed amount per month until they can fully purchase the home. Those who want to use this service have to pay a 1% administrative fee upfront, but Homebase doesn’t charge interest. Customers can take this route to transition into home ownership.

Buyers can also walk away any time and cash out their savings.

So how does Homebase make money?

“We first buy the property, maybe at 1 billion dong [for example], and we pre-agree with the homebuyer to buy back the property later in the contract at an appreciated higher price. Basically, the home buyer would [make a] deposit every month towards the higher price,” Homebase co-founder Philip An told Tech in Asia.

“The other model is sell to Homebase. Sellers may need instant cash or they want to sell to Homebase fast, within 72 hours. They don’t want to go to an agent with a long listing process. In these cases, we might ask for a slight discount on the property. We acquire the property, clean it up, and list it back to the market.”

With the new injection, it plans to launch more partnerships with real estate developers and agents while furthering its tech capabilities.

According to An, Homebase can help agents and developers close more deals by offering its solution to clients and acting as an alternative to traditional home loans and mortgages.

The startup estimates that in Vietnam, it takes over two decades for the average millennial to save up for their first home. Bank loans have also became harder to secure, driving some people to turn to solutions like Homebase’s.