Housell opens new ways to avoid the impact of Covid-19. The proptech owned by the Cerberus and Aviv funds, controlled in turn by the German group Axel Springer, foresees recover the levels of turnover and activity prepandemia this year and achieve profitability in 2022, as explained by Guillermo Llibre, CEO of the company, to Eje Prime.
“The company is still in a growth cycle,” adds the manager. In 2019, Housell had a turnover of eight million euros, while in 2020 he entered six million euros, due to the impact of the pandemic. “We started the year at a good pace to bill between ten and twelve million in 2020, but the Covid-19 stopped it,” says Llibre.
In order to catapult its growth and achieve positive EBITDA, the company plans to incorporate a third partner to its shareholders. The profile of the new owner of the company is “a background with very clear experience in real estate that can help us climb”, Explains Llibre. The company is in talks with insurers and banks.
Following the impact of Covid-19, the company launched a new line of business by subscription under the name Housell Flex, where the user can put the house on the market for 59 euros per month. Through the new service of the proptech, the user takes the photographs and the announcement of the sale and Housell is in charge of uploading it to the main real estate portals and filtering the buyers.
Housell has started a new business line by subscription in 2021
Until now, with the company’s classic business model, the user of the application delegates the total management of the sale. “We act like a traditional real estate, but with the transparency that technology gives,” explains Llibre. “With the new application, users have the opportunity to put their house on the market and see its value,” he adds.
The company’s new line of business has been in operation since February 2021. “We were afraid that the tool will cannibalize the brand, but we have found two very different types of users: those who want to sell, who hire the traditional package, and those who want to try, who opt for the new line,” he says. Free.
The company closed in March with 800 active users, half of them in its traditional business area, and the other half through the new application. For the new line, the company estimates to add 8,000 customers by the end of the year and tie to your main business area. “With House Flex we want to expand market share and expand our range of services,” says the manager.
Last year, the company opened the mortgage intermediation line, but until this year it has not been able to start operating due to the new mortgage regulation. “Currently it is a fairly residual line, but it helps us to close the circle of sale and purchase services and we hope that mortgages will rebound this year,” adds the manager.
–
