Home equity lending alternative Hometap raises $60 million in capital

Hometap, the Boston-based fintech providing alternatives to home-equity loans, announced that it had secured an additional $60 million in funding to support hiring and further expansion.

American Family Ventures led the latest capital raise, joined by new and existing investors including Bain Capital, ICONIQ Capital, G20 Ventures, Pillar and General Catalyst. It increases the total operating capital raised to date by Hometap to $95 million, a spokesperson for the company said.

"This new funding will reinforce our ongoing efforts to build our talented team, rapidly expand our operations and grow our partner programs and distribution channels,” Hometap CEO Jeffrey Glass said in a press release.

Hometap provides interest-free cash for up to 10 years to homeowners in exchange for a share in their property’s future equity. Once the home is sold or the homeowner repays the investment, Hometap receives an agreed-upon percentage of the sale price or current appraised value.

In the first 10 months this year, Hometap made four times the number of home-equity investments it made during the same time frame in 2020. The company has also more than doubled the number of employees in the past 12 months to over 130.

In its announcement, Hometap also indicated it had plans to expand nationwide. The company, which was founded in 2017, currently operates in 15 states.

This latest funding news comes as investments in companies offering similar financing options has gained momentum in the last several months. Earlier this fall, Equifi received a capital infusion to further develop its home-equity access product, while fintech startup Button Finance scored $2 million in seed funding. In October, Redwood Trust announced the issuance of $146 million in securities consisting of investments from Point, whose platform also gives homeowners the opportunity to tap into the value of their homes.

Dan Reed, managing director of American Family Ventures — who also participated in Hometap’s earlier rounds — said its latest investment in Hometap was a stamp of approval of its efforts.

"Since we made our first investment in Hometap in 2018, we've strongly believed in its mission to give homeowners a more accessible way to create liquidity and financial flexibility from what is oftentimes their largest asset," Reed said. "By leading this funding round, we're casting another vote of confidence in the team's ability to accelerate its progress."

The buzz in the home-equity alternative finance space has grown louder this year thanks to the dramatic rise in property values. Black Knight recently reported that U.S. homeowners added more than $250 billion in available home equity in the third quarter alone this year, increasing the average mortgage holder’s stake by $53,000 over the previous 18 months. On average, homeowners now have nearly $178,000 in tappable equity, with the total aggregate value of equity now at $9.4 trillion, up 32% year over year, according to the data and analytics provider.