There’s been a lot of talk about homes in the past couple of years, with people sheltering in place, working from home, remodeling their homes and watching the soaring value of their homes.
This has highlighted — or driven home, if you will — the importance of the information and services that help people buy, sell or maintain a house.
“The industry itself is booming — real estate in general — and the market is really hot,” Gabe Douek, general manager at Ownerly, told PYMNTS. “People are hungry for information about homes. There’s a lot of activity in the market.”
Helping Consumers Manage Their Largest Asset
Ownerly was launched two to three years ago as a platform to provide data and insights about homes. Today, this includes information about home valuations, liens, titles, owner history, neighborhoods and permit data.
“When you’re looking to invest in or sell your largest asset, this data is extremely valuable,” Douek said.
The platform has also been adding a growing range of resources, tools, discounts and perks to help owners manage their homes. Partnering with other companies, its current or soon-to-be-added offerings include savings on home inspections, utility bills, property taxes, handyman service, real estate agents, home insurance, lawnmowing, painting, interior design and dog walking.
“We’re looking to add tools to help you with your financial management of your home, to help you understand all the costs that go into running your home,” Douek said.
Providing Value Throughout the Home Ownership Lifecycle
Users pay a monthly fee to become a member and access the data and the perks.
The range of partnerships and product offerings helps retain subscribers by giving them a hand with things they’ll encounter, from searching for a home to selling it. In addition, the platform checks every 30 days for changes in such things as title or valuation and alerts the subscriber.
“Our goal is really to become a super app for homeowners,” Douek said. “We want to provide tools, resources and savings for homeowners throughout the entire lifecycle of their home. That’s what we’re working toward so that people will stay on for longer and provide value throughout that entire life cycle.”
Ownerly offers vendors that use its platform access to a gated community of current or prospective homeowners at no cost.
Providing Tools Beyond Buying and Selling
The latest news around home transactions has involved rising interest rates. Douek said the platform hasn’t seen any impact from that, as the activity level on the site is still high, and subscribers are still looking to transact.
“If the market changes and there’s less activity, could that impact Ownerly? Potentially, but ultimately that only impacts one aspect, which is the buying and the selling,” Douek said. “It doesn’t impact who owns a home and who needs these tools.”
