Proptech company Hombase said it has managed to raise US$30 million in equity and debt to make homeownership accessible across Southeast Asia including Viet Nam.

Leading global investors participating in the round included Y Combinator, Partech Partners, Goodwater Capital, Ace and Company, Emles Advisors, Foundamental, CEO of Y Combinator Michael Seibel, and operators and executives from SoFi, Opendoor, Republic, Microsoft, Instacart, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Binance, and others.

Homebase is a real estate technology company that buys homes for clients, allows them to move in and buy back anytime.

The company said in the coming months it is set to further develop proprietary technologies, launch additional partnerships with real estate developers and agents and hire more personnel.

“Rising prices and strict mortgage criteria make buying a home extremely difficult in Southeast Asia, and Homebase is creating a new financial path, and for the first time giving underserved consumers a new way to own a home,” Siebel said.

“We've seen many innovative proptech companies at YC from around the world, and Homebase is among those leading towards a significantly better and more customer-centric solution.”

Southeast Asia is the world’s fastest growing real estate market but becoming one of the least affordable, with the average millennial in Viet Nam requiring more than two decades to save up for their first home.

Even during COVID-19 lockdowns in Q3 2021, average landed property prices grew by 3-17 per cent year-on-year, according to real estate consultancy CBRE.

The pandemic has only exacerbated the need for more innovative, empathetic pathways to homeownership, as traditional bank mortgage options now require LTVs up to 50 per cent, which coupled with growing property prices increasingly push home ownership out of reach of anyone other than high net-worth individuals with regular incomes. — VNS