Houm

Houm is a property technology company operating as an all-in-one real estate marketplace in Latin America, with a presence in Chile, Mexico, and Colombia. Founded in Santiago, Chile, in 2018 by Benjamín Labra and Nicolás Knockaert, the company aims to streamline the process of renting, buying, and selling properties. The founders, both alumni of Columbia University's Master of Science in Real Estate Development program, identified a need to modernize the traditionally bureaucratic and technology-deficient real estate sector in the region. Labra, with a background in investment banking and real estate, and Knockaert, an industrial engineer with over a decade of experience in real estate development and investments, combined their expertise to launch the platform.

The company's business model is centered on providing a comprehensive digital platform for property owners and seekers, disrupting the traditional realtor-based system. Houm digitizes the entire lifecycle of a real estate transaction, from listing and virtual tours to tenant screening, contract signing, and rent collection. For landlords, the platform offers services to manage properties, collect rent, and find tenants, with a key value proposition being a guaranteed monthly rent payment, regardless of whether the tenant pays. This is supported by an insurance policy that covers potential defaults and eviction processes. The company utilizes a freelance workforce, known as "Houmers," who are responsible for photographing, preparing, and showing properties, earning income for each successful rental or sale they facilitate. This model allows the company to show properties with high frequency, claiming a showing every 8 minutes.

Houm serves a diverse client base that includes individual property investors, small-scale landlords, and larger property management firms looking to digitize their operations. Tenants and buyers benefit from a simplified, faster, and more transparent process, with the company aiming to make renting and selling properties up to 10 times faster than conventional methods. Since its inception, Houm has seen significant growth, backed by substantial venture capital funding. The company participated in the Y Combinator accelerator program in Winter 2021 and has raised a total of $44.5 million over five funding rounds. A major milestone was its $35 million Series A round in November 2021, led by Goodwater Capital and Fifth Wall, intended to fuel expansion into new cities and triple its workforce.

Keywords: proptech, real estate marketplace, property management, Latin America real estate, online rental platform, digital brokerage, real estate investment, tenant screening, rent collection, property technology, residential leasing, home sales, Houmers, Benjamín Labra, Nicolás Knockaert, Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital, Fifth Wall, Santiago, Bogota, Mexico City