Proptech Startup Gives Millennial Buyers Green Light

A new proptech startup called Greendoor from Bill Lyons, CEO and founder of mortgage lender Griffin Funding aims to help Millennial and tech-smart homebuyers.

Greendoor's suite of tools are geared toward buyers, rather than sellers. Says Lyons, “The market is becoming a buyer's market. However, from our research, we've found minimal tools that serve the needs of today's buyer, especially the Millennial demographic that is starting to drive much of the economy." Greendoor users can search for homes based on monthly payment and affordability, including "all-in" housing costs not typically shown on other real estate listing sites. Additionally, the startup is building an algorithm to show buyers which properties are the best deals on the market, another tool not found on other search platforms, The Los Angeles Times reports. 

Similar to a traditional real estate brokerage, Greendoor has real estate agents and is partnered with Griffin Funding for loan originations, if buyers choose to finance through the company -- Greendoor offers to pay the buyer’s first mortgage payment if they are pre-approved for a Griffin loan. 

The startup is co-founded by Bill Lyons, the CEO and founder of Griffin Funding, the fastest growing mortgage lender in the country during 2017, according to Inc. 500. The company’s other co-founder is Teevan McManus, who’s heading up day-to-day operations as president. 

“Real estate has been ripe for change for a long time,” McManus said. “The days when you would walk into a real estate brokerage and ask an agent to show you around are over. A veil has been lifted, and all data for properties on the market are available online through platforms like Greendoor, Redfin, and Trulia. Now, the next step in the process is adding transparency for the buyer, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Advanced search tools are increasingly in demand for home buyers of all ages, but especially the younger ones. Buyers aged 36 and below now represent the biggest chunk of homebuyers, making up 34 percent of all purchases last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. As this tech-savvy generation gets older, Lyons thinks they’ll demand more robust technology for their house hunt, especially considering nearly all (99 percent) of millennials start their house hunt online.

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