Last January, REX, a tech-focused real estate brokerage that does not use the MLS, raised $15 million in its Series B funding round to fund a national expansion.
Now, just over a year later, the company has raised triple that amount.
REX announced Tuesday that it just completed a $45 million Series C funding round. According to the company, it plans to use the new funding to continue its expansion.
Last year, REX expanded to Colorado, Texas, Northern California, and New Jersey after first launching in Southern California and New York. And earlier this month, the company began operating in Sacramento, California and Portland, Oregon.
REX is a real estate brokerage, representing both homebuyers and sellers in real estate deals, but the company does not list its properties on the MLS.
What sets REX apart, according to the company, is that it provides homebuyers and sellers with an “innovative technology platform that replaces the conventional real estate model, effectively providing a digital alternative in the sale of a home.”
According to the company, it uses “big data and AI” to aid in the process, using “proprietary algorithms that target homebuyers based on geography, income, life stage, and likelihood of interest.”
The company also claims that it lists properties on Zillow, Trulia, Google, Yahoo Homes, Bing, and other sites.
And it does all this just a 2% fee on both sides of the home sale.
The company also offers escrow and title, mortgage, and insurance services.
“We are at a transformational moment in the U.S. real estate market with consumers demanding lower costs, great service and the benefits brought by technology that have transformed so many other industries,” said Jack Ryan, co-founder and CEO of REX. “REX offers a more affordable, convenient and transparent way to buy and sell homes, in contrast to all the brokerages that depend on the MLS model that uses protectionist practices to maintain outrageously high fees.”
According to the company, in addition to expanding geographically, REX has also seen a 300% year-over-year increase in its listings.
The company did not list the investors in the latest round of funding, but previous investors include Scott McNealy, the co-founder and former CEO of Sun Microsystems; Dick Schulze, the founder of Best Buy; Gordon Segal, the founder of Crate and Barrel; Amit Singhal, former senior vice president of search at Google; Jack Greenberg, the former CEO of McDonalds; and others.
Overall, the company has now raised $75 million in funding.
“REX is delivering a residential real estate solution in step with how consumers actually behave and what they actually want,” McNealy said. “REX has expanded rapidly and has been managing its business with incredible focus, and we’re delighted by the way home buyers and sellers across the U.S. are responding.”
