Startup of the Month: Housfy

Housfy is an alternative to a real estate agent. We give house sellers the tools and support to do it by themselves. We cover all the legal issues, as well as sales and marketing. We cover everything. The seller is the one opening the door and deciding the price, but we give them all the support they need in order to do that. 

Currently, the property industry in Spain is not transparent. You must have 100 percent faith in your estate agent. It’s very expensive and you don’t know what’s going on with your house. The cost of doing it with us is almost zero. The seller makes the decisions and receives the full amount—our commission is not hidden within the sale price. This means that even if we sell a house at a lower price, the seller still receives the same amount of money, if not more, when compared with a standard real estate agent. Consequently, we are offering a quicker turnaround and cheaper service. 

The digital industry works in trends. Seven years ago, the big thing was coupons, two years ago, deliveries. I wanted to start a business and it was clear to me that it had to be something that’s a current trend. I realized that the property tech movement was working in the UK and the US. I researched lots of different models and adapted it to make it work in the industry in Spain, as the market is very different here.

We set up the business six months ago. The first challenge we faced was to check whether this idea could work in Spain. We concluded that it could work and there is a big market for it. Our challenge now is to scale up the business. In order to do so, we need to work on communication. When you talk to people about the business, people love the idea, and our clients, so far, have been very happy.  

The other challenge is client confidence. It's disappointing when a client is thinking about selling their house with us but in the end decides to go with a traditional estate agent. We can do it faster, cheaper and at market price, but some people don’t want to be the first to test it. We want to say, ‘Hey! This is working, don’t be afraid’. We have to break down these barriers. 

In order to start up a business, the idea has to be on trend. You also have to have the right contacts and knowledge of the the industry. You need people who can help you in a set amount of time. You need money, and in order to get money you need to propose a hot investment. If you are starting up a business that isn’t hot, it’s going to be very difficult for you to raise money, even if you are the best in the world.

Barcelona is currently the fourth most important city in the world for digital companies. Some European companies are starting to put their operational headquarters here because the talent is good. The Catalan government is trying to develop this industry in Barcelona and is keen to promote hubs like Pier 01, where we are based. It’s a great city for starting up a business. 

Learn more about Housfy at housfy.com.