Residential sale-leaseback platform EasyKnock has acquired the assets of home equity investment firm HomePace, the company exclusively told HousingWire on Monday.
Goodwin Procter, a global law firm, acted as legal adviser for the deal, but further terms were not disclosed.
HomePace, founded in 2020, specializes in helping homeowners access their equity through home equity agreements. Homeowners can receive up to $250,000 in upfront cash in exchange for a share of their home’s future value when they sell it.
This is an alternative way for homeowners to tap into equity rather than taking on additional debt such as a home line of credit (HELOC) or a home equity loan. HomePace has worked with homeowners in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.
Tappable equity soared to a record $11 trillion in the first quarter of 2024, according to a recent report by Intercontinental Exchange. Meanwhile, more than 9 million U.S. homeowners face barriers in accessing their home equity, according to a recent white paper published by Duke University’s Marvin Chang and Jeremy Potter of Next Belt Strategies. EasyKnock aims to address this gap and facilitate the release of equity for homeowners.
The addition of HomePace follows a string of other proptech startup purchases undertaken by EasyKnock since 2023. It acquired home equity co-ownership firm Balance Homes in December 2023, home maintenance company Onder in September 2023 and cash-offer platform Ribbon in May 2023.
By the end of the year, EasyKnock aims to integrate all of its products and services into a single platform, creating a one-stop shop for financial solutions that serves homeowners, buyers and sellers across the country.
Joe Cianciolo, Megan Graf and Jeboah (Bo) Joerg — the three co-founders of HomePace — will join EasyKnock. Cianciolo will serve as head of business development, Graf as senior vice president of operations and Joerg as chief investment officer.
“HomePace products address a critical and sizable market need, and will be a powerful tool in our arsenal. The joining of our forces pulls the ladder up behind us and cements our role as a formidable, solution-driven presence in American real estate,” Jarred Kessler, CEO and founder of EasyKnock, said in a statement.
Looking ahead, EasyKnock plans to create its own funds to target more than $1 billion in assets over the next three to five years while continuing to work with various third-party partners.
“From the outside looking in, it may look like there are a lot of different things we are doing right now, but we are very focused on one thing: We are building a platform,” Kessler told HousingWire. “The platform is moving liquidity, equity access and services around that.”
Moving forward, Kessler remains open to new acquisitions that could better serve EasyKnock’s customers. This could include acquiring better data, educational resources, tools to assist homeowners transitioning to renters through a sale-leaseback program, and tools to support home co-ownership.
In February, EasyKnock completed a $28 million Series D funding round. Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, the venture capital arm of financial services company Northwestern Mutual, joined as an investor in this round.
