Rook Capital, a proptech focused on solving home affordability and widening homeownership, last week announced securing a $4.1 million capital fundraise and access to a warehouse credit facility, according to a press release shared with FinLedger.
The company says it intends to use funding to grow its “Shared Value Investment” program, which helps prospective-homebuyers to purchase homes in return for a portion of equity upside.
It also stated plans to continue building out partnerships, expand into new geographical markets and to build an ecosystem of community-focused investors who match the needs of homebuyers.
Investors providing capital include LL Funds, First Mile Ventures, Kickstart Fund, Service Provider Capital and Tango Ventures, with LL also providing the warehouse credit facility, according to the release.
Rook noted sharp increases in home prices over the past decade, with recent slowdowns unable to pull prices back from historical highs. It says in some desirable metros prices are over 10x the median income, and claimed that 70% of millennials polled suggested that “homeownership is just a dream.”
“There is a large portion of the population that is entering their prime home ownership years and are facing the daunting reality of buying a home with high-prices and rising interest rates; still, they desire homeownership, the ability to establish community and don’t want to be perma-renters,” stated Ed Messman, Rook co-Founder and CEO, in the release.
The company says that by “thoughtfully” integrating web3 features it seeks to engage new demographics in helping to solve home affordability, with Rook co-founder and CTO Kevin Cawley saying the company is leveraging the opportunities of decentralized finance and applying them to the world’s largest class—housing.
“Home affordability is one of those problems that hits you in the face every day while reading headlines, and it’s only getting worse as mortgage rates rise,” added Aaron Stachel, partner at First Mile Ventures.
“The Rook team has developed an elegant solution to get the next generation of homebuyers into homes they can afford while providing a way for investors to access residential real estate without becoming a landlord.”
In other recent proptech news, DoorLoop raised a $20 million Series A led by Alpine Software Group (ASG). Ryan also acquired Thomson Reuters‘ property tax and transfer offering product lines, becoming the largest property tax software provider in the U.S.