Exclusive: Homeward Raises $120M To Help Homeowners Buy And Sell More Quickly As Housing Market Stalls

Homeward, a startup specializing in helping homeowners purchase properties before selling their current homes or secure cash offers, has exclusively secured $120 million in a Series D funding round, Crunchbase News reports.

The financing was led by Saluda Grade, an alternative investment firm that focuses on asset-backed credit, with participation from Continental General Insurance Co., Citi Ventures, Norwest, Magnetar Capital, and LiveOak Ventures.

Since its launch in 2018, Homeward has raised a total of $360 million in equity. While the company chose not to reveal the valuation for this latest round, it noted that the figure matches the valuation from its $136 million Series C raise in 2021, which was reported at the time to be slightly above $800 million.

Based in Austin, Homeward also obtained a $330 million asset-backed debt facility dedicated to financing additional home transactions. The new equity capital will be used to expand its financing products and invest further in its technology infrastructure.

This fresh funding arrives amid an increase in startup investment within the proptech sector this year. According to Crunchbase statistics, global real estate startups have drawn roughly $12.7 billion in seed- through growth-stage funding in 2026, putting this year on track to surpass last year’s total of $12.3 billion. Even so, current sector investment remains far below peak years, such as 2019—the second-highest year on record following the 2021 venture funding boom—when real estate startups brought in $24 billion, per Crunchbase figures.

Cashing out before a sale

Operating through real estate agents, Homeward assists clients in unlocking their home equity and managing the complex timing of buying and selling. Its Buy Before You Sell program supplies short-term financing so homeowners can acquire their next property prior to selling their current one, alongside a guaranteed backup offer on the existing residence.

For individuals looking for a quicker sale, the Sell Before You List program provides a cash purchase and closing within a few weeks. Homeward subsequently renovates the property and lists it on the open market, returning any profit to the original homeowner while deducting a program fee.

“We realized that there’s an opportunity to help homeowners sell their home fast without sacrificing all of their home equity like they would have to if they sold to an investor,” founder and CEO Tim Heyl told Crunchbase News in an interview.

This financing has allowed Homeward to roll out its cash-offer program across all 48 contiguous states, Heyl noted. The business also intends to make its Buy Before You Sell program available nationwide before the year concludes.

This expansion trails a strategic pivot that Heyl credits with helping Homeward more than quadruple its revenue since 2021, despite U.S. home sales declining by approximately 30% according to his estimates.

“Our ability to really exponentially grow over the last four years or so was a huge thanks to the pivot,” Heyl said, highlighting its Sell Before You List product, which targets “the home sellers that are still transacting.”

Over the years, Homeward reports that it has teamed up with more than 25,000 real estate agents and facilitated over $4 billion in transactions.

A pivot as homeowners stayed put

Between 2019 and 2022, Homeward concentrated entirely on helping homeowners buy their next property before selling their existing house. This service resonated with agents and consumers navigating a competitive housing market, driving rapid growth for the company, according to Heyl.

However, rapidly climbing interest rates made that target audience harder to reach. As moving expenses increased, homeowners who might have otherwise upsized or downsied chose to stay put.

“It became more expensive, definitely a lot more expensive, to move up, but even for a lot of people, more expensive to move down,” Heyl said.

In response, Homeward broadened the range of sellers it could support. Even though fewer people were simultaneously buying and selling, certain homeowners still needed to sell without purchasing another property. With homes taking longer to sell and prices becoming harder to predict, Heyl noticed an escalating demand for cash offers.

Homeward debuted Sell Before You List in early 2023. From Heyl’s perspective, the key differentiator is that Homeward provides a service directly to sellers instead of attempting to capture the upside from buying and reselling homes.

“Once we fix the house up and sell it for its full price on the open market, we send that profit back to the original homeowner,” he said.

Additionally, Homeward revamped its initial Buy Before You Sell offering to lower costs and simplify the process for a market where homes no longer routinely sell over a weekend with multiple competing offers. That segment has significantly bolstered growth over the past year or so as more homeowners resume making moves, Heyl stated.

“Most homeowners that are trying to move up or move down still plan to use the majority of their home equity to make that next purchase,” he said.

Homeward also offers Buy With Cash, enabling buyers to submit cash-backed offers and later refinance into a traditional mortgage after closing.

Direct-to-consumer marketing without the cost

The company’s distribution model places real estate agents at the center. Homeward has built partnerships with over 25,000 agents and facilitated upwards of $4 billion in real estate transactions, per Heyl.

Instead of pursuing end consumers individually, the firm cultivates continuous relationships with agents, teams, and brokerages capable of repeatedly bringing clients into its programs.

“We don’t spend a dime going direct to consumer,” he said. “We don’t advertise. We don’t market.”

Certain agents integrate Homeward’s offerings into their own marketing strategies using their own brands, a practice known as white-labeling. Others turn to the company when a client’s existing home or lack of accessible equity prevents them from completing a new purchase.

“Sometimes it’s just unblocking the transaction,” Heyl said.

That momentum in a challenging market helped win over Saluda Grade, which is investing in Homeward for the first time. John Stepp, who leads the firm’s growth equity fund, noted that the team’s grasp of the obstacles confronting buyers, sellers, and agents set them apart from other comparable operators they had evaluated.

“They really understood the core issues they were addressing,” Stepp said. “It was evident in their financial performance and their growth.”

Geographic expansion served as another major draw, he mentioned, with the capital infusion presenting an opportunity to introduce Homeward’s product suite to new markets.

“We recognize the product-market fit, and how useful this product set really is to eliminate some of the friction in the home transaction process for consumers,” Stepp told Crunchbase News in an interview, “and how useful of a tool it is for agents to be able to offer this.”

Using AI to speed up underwriting

Like many technology startups, Homeward is integrating artificial intelligence into its daily workflows. For instance, the company leverages AI to minimize manual labor associated with processing transactions and underwriting properties.

Large language models extract data from documents and assist underwriters in reviewing property photos, videos, and inspection reports by pulling out vital specifics regarding roofs, heating and cooling systems, and overall home conditions, according to Heyl.

“AI has been huge for streamlining operations and underwriting,” he said.

For Heyl, the wider opportunity lies in continuously solving the financing and timing obstacles that complicate home purchases and sales, regardless of broader shifts in the housing market.

“There’s been a major pullback, but it hasn’t changed the opportunity that exists to solve problems for buyers and sellers,” he said.

Homeward generates revenue through multiple channels. The Buy Before You Sell program incurs a 1% program fee along with monthly interest costs, while Sell Before You List involves a single program fee with no monthly charges. Heyl did not disclose the specific fee for that offering.

The company also makes money via its internal mortgage and title divisions. Heyl explained that incorporating more services into a single transaction simplifies the experience for buyers and sellers while cutting down the program fee Homeward needs to charge.

?Frequently Asked Questions

01What is Homeward and what does it do?

Homeward is an Austin-based proptech startup that helps homeowners buy new properties before selling their existing homes, offers cash-backed purchasing solutions, and provides cash-offer programs for fast property sales.

02How much funding has Homeward raised?

Homeward has raised a $120 million Series D round, bringing its total equity funding to $360 million since its inception in 2018.

03What are Homeward’s main programs for homeowners?

Its core programs include Buy Before You Sell (short-term financing for buying a new home first), Sell Before You List (a cash purchase and quick closing for a fast sale), and Buy With Cash.

04How does Homeward market its products?

Homeward does not market directly to consumers or advertise. Instead, it partners with real estate agents, teams, and brokerages who offer Homeward’s financing programs to their clients.

Related Crunchbase query:

• Global Venture Funding To Proptech Startups In 2026

Related reading:

• Sector Snapshot: Proptech Funding Holds Up, But Investors Are Placing Different Bets
• Sector Snapshot: Real Estate Tech Funding Sees Slight Rebound, But Still Far Lower Than Peak Years

Illustration: Dom Guzman