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Flyhomes, a vertically integrated brokerage and mortgage lender, announced Wednesday it was laying off employees — marking the second time it has cut workers in the past five months.
The company announced the lay offs on LinkedIn, saying, “We are deeply saddened to share that today we are saying goodbye to many of our beloved teammates at Flyhomes.” The announcement did not say how many jobs were cut or what percentage of the company’s workforce they represent.
In response to an Inman inquiry, the company said it would not be sharing additional information beyond the LinkedIn announcement.
The announcement did however point to “rapidly shifting market conditions” that required taking “painful steps” to “ensure the long term trajectory of the company.”
“The reality is, the housing sector is now in a recession, and the latest reports show that the market is expected to continue cooling for longer than anyone initially predicted,” the announcement continued.
Flyhomes previously laid off 20 percent of its workforce in July. At that time, the company cited rapidly rising mortgage rates and cooling demand for housing as the reason for the cuts.
In the case of Wednesday’s new round of layoffs, Flyhomes said on LinkedIn that employees who lost jobs would receive severance packages and “transition support.”
Flyhomes has worked to pioneer the all-in-one real estate platform. In addition to both a brokerage and mortgage business, the company has also earned attention for its power buyer product. Flyhomes launched in 2016 and has rapidly expanded, thanks in part to $150 million in Series C funding it raised last year.
But the company’s growth has also crashed headlong into a worsening housing downturn. The downturn first impacted mortgage providers and has since spread to other sectors. In total, thousands of real estate professionals have lost jobs as lenders, brokerages and technology companies have all scrambled to deal with the changing market conditions.
The downturn has also been particularly hard on real estate technology companies. Those that are publicly traded — which doesn’t include Flyhomes — have seen their stock prices tumble for months. The most significant stories in real estate tech lately include the revelation that Opendoor lost nearly $1 billion in a single quarter, and that Redfin has now axed its iBuying program.
In Flyhomes’ case, the company ultimately thanked departing workers for their contributions.
“They worked tirelessly to build this company and the Flyhomes story will forever be a part of their legacy,” the LinkedIn announcement stated. “They are amazing people who came to Flyhomes because they wanted to solve really hard problems and don’t back down from a challenge.”
