From GeekWire:
Exclusive: Real estate giant Realogy makes strategic investment in Seattle startup Estately
“As one of the largest residential real estate companies in the U.S., Realogy has thousands of agents which could benefit from receiving targeted leads from Estately.
Ward said they already provide leads to some Realogy agents, but very little would change as part of the investment. He said he kept the investment quiet because raising more money “is not that interesting” but also because he didn’t want the company’s agent network to think that things would change due to the involvement of Realogy.
In today’s interview, Ward said that “we love our business model and love our clients,” and he added that Estately is “doing a good job” of competing against large real estate incumbents as well as tech-heavy brands like Zillow and Trulia.
“We are excited about our growth,” he said. “And we see potential in our business model and agent model.”
First off you gotta give it up to Galen Ward, Estately’s CEO, the guy has been crushing it. As many readers know I’ve big a big fan of their site and mobile app (which is my “go to” at the moment). Galen is super smart, humble and I always enjoy catching up with him and talking business.
On another level you gotta be curious what’s up Realogy/NRT sleeve? ZipRealty, now Estately? I’ve got a few ideas what might be playing out here but will hold off on any speculation. Congrats to Galen and his team!