California-based real estate brokerage and power buyer Reali Inc. says it’s shutting down and will lay off most of its workforce on Sept. 9, citing “challenging real estate and financial market conditions and [an] unfavorable capital-raising environment.”
The company said a small team of employees will continue to support real estate transactions now in progress through the end of the year, and that Reali is “in ongoing conversations with companies that have expressed interest in acquiring specific parts of its business,” including mortgage origination, title and escrow, and power buying.
Tyler Baldwin
“We had an incredible six-year run delighting homeowners,” said Reali CEO Tyler Baldwin, in a statement Wednesday. “We want to extend our deepest gratitude to the thousands of homeowners who trusted Reali with their homeownership journeys, the Reali team, our investors, and those who rooted for us from the sidelines. It has been a pleasure to serve our communities.”
In addition to serving providing power buyer services including “buy before you sell” and cash offer program as a licensed real estate brokerage in California, Reali’s lending arm, Reali Loans, provided mortgage financing in 14 states.
Launched as a flat-fee brokerage in 2016, Reali pivoted in 2019 by acquiring Lenda, a startup mortgage lender, which it integrated into Reali Loans, a lending service, to create “a seamless end-to-end real estate experience while saving thousands of dollars in commission fees.”
Screenshot of Reali Facebook ad captured in June 2021.
Reali announced last August that it had raised $250 million in a new funding round, including $75 million in equity funding, $25 million in debt and $150 million in warehouse financing. In January Reali announced its expansion into the San Diego market through the acquisition of a local brokerage, TXR Homes, with 90 agents.
Reali executives did not immediately respond to Inman’s request for comment on the decision to shut down. Rising mortgage rates and their impact on home sales have caused a number of mortgage lenders and real estate companies to downsize this year.
According to the California Department of Real Estate, there are 33 broker associates and 239 real estate salespersons affiliated with Reali Inc.’s San Mateo-based real estate brokerage business. Reali Loans Inc. employed nine mortgage loan originators working out of two active branch locations, according to records maintained by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.
On LinkedIn, employees lamented the demise of a company that they said was force for change.
Reali Escrow Manager Justin Richards posted that despite the anxiety caused by having to look for a new job, he was “happy to have had the chance to work for Reali,” a company that “pushed for changes.”
Reali Head of Underwriting Noah Devine expressed similar sentiments, saying, “I am so proud of what we were able to accomplish and the barriers we were able to break.”
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