Roofstock, the leading online marketplace for investing in the single-family rental (SFR) sector, today announced it has surpassed $3 billion in property transaction value since it launched in 2016. It also announced substantial growth in the first quarter, including its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in Q1 2021 was more than $380 million, a 569% increase over Q1 2020. The demand for single-family rentals has reached unprecedented levels, and the Roofstock Technology Platform makes it simple and straightforward for investors large and small to gain the exposure they seek in the dynamic single-family-rental sector.
“When the pandemic hit last March, many experts expected the housing market to be devastated. While we did experience a downturn in Q2 and Q3 of last year, in Q4 the market came roaring back, and we are now experiencing unprecedented levels of demand across our platform,” said Gary Beasley, CEO and co-founder of Roofstock. “In fact, COVID has encouraged people to increasingly transact digitally since travel has been restricted, and we’ve seen that over 90% of rentals purchased through Roofstock are more than 250 miles away from where the investor lives.”
Roofstock aims to make single-family rental investing as easy as investing in stocks by providing the technology to research, analyze, and make offers on homes in a simplified platform fueled by data. While many institutional investors utilize the Roofstock Technology Platform, investments that may have been previously reserved for experts or institutional investors are also accessible to individual investors seeking to diversify their investment portfolios in an asset class that continues to gain traction.
Roofstock is increasingly looked upon as the definitive digital platform for today’s real estate investor. In Q1 2021, Roofstock nearly doubled the amount of traffic to its site over the same period last year, with 70% of the traffic being organic. Among Roofstock’s customers, more than 80% are under 44, more than half are under 35, and 75% are first-time real estate investors, signaling that with reliable and straightforward technology, investors can gain the confidence they need to delve into real estate investing. After experiencing Roofstock’s technology, both buyers and sellers see the value in utilizing the platform — in fact, about 30% of buyers are repeat buyers and 50% of retail closings are from repeat sellers. Investors are also rapidly adopting new technology to help them become smarter, more efficient owners of investment properties. Stessa, Roofstock’s free rental home portfolio optimization tool for investors, recently surpassed $50 billion in total assets tracked.
“Roofstock continues to disrupt real estate in a way we haven’t seen before. Institutional and retail investors alike are utilizing its scalable, data-driven platform to build robust single-family rental portfolios and generate passive income in trying times,” commented Matt Harris, partner at Bain Capital Ventures. “This milestone is a testament to the increased demand in single-family rentals we’re seeing across the board, and Roofstock’s ability to meet that demand.”
About Roofstock
Roofstock is the leading marketplace for investing in single-family rental homes, offering investment properties in top U.S. markets. The company provides all of the resources for investors to buy, own and sell real estate online, including data analytics, property management oversight and other tools. Roofstock’s transparent, innovative marketplace empowers investors to own cash-flowing rental properties, diversify their investment portfolios and build long-term wealth through real estate. Founded in 2015, the company has facilitated more than $3 billion in transaction volume through its marketplace to date.
SOURCE Roofstock
