Loft buys CrediHome marketplace, takes lead in lending for real estate purchases in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Loft takes the lead in lending for real estate acquisition, begins operations in Belo Horizonte, and will expand its presence in the metropolitan areas of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Loft, one of the largest unicorns in the country dedicated to the real estate market and one of the leaders in the purchase and sale of real estate, is accelerating its growth plan. On Tuesday (24), the company announced the acquisition of CrediHome.

CrediHome, a digital real estate financing marketplace in Brazil, recently gained Central Bank approval to begin originating its own credit. The fintech player is now working to break into the country’s consolidated mortgage market with products that challenge more traditional models.

Its lending process includes a so-called property scoring system, which CEO and founder Bruno Gama claims can allow it to lend to borrowers who may face rejection from large banks. Even if Brazil’s historically low-interest rates edge up next year and beyond, the groundwork has been laid for wider-reaching and increasingly active real estate and mortgage markets in the country, Gama told S&P Global Market Intelligence.

When you buy a property with big banks, you can only do it with your wife or husband. With CrediHome, you can buy a property between up to five people, whether they are family, friends, or investors, a very interesting possibility in terms of payment capacity. This is unique to CrediHome.

With this transaction, Loft becomes the country’s most important player in this field, namely the intermediation of customer requests through real estate agencies, consulting companies, and specialized portals to the banks that actually grant the financing.

It will amount to more than R$600 million (US$115 million) per month, giving an annual volume of more than R$7.2 billion per year.

The startup’s next steps include geographic expansion beyond the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, co-founders Mate Pencz and Florian Hagenbuch told Exame newspaper. The acquisition of CrediHome itself reinforces this front, as more than 50% of its business is outside the Southeast.

The new strategic moves are part of the expansion plan laid out at the time of the Series D round in May, which raised US$525 million. Loft was valued at US$2.9 billion (about 15 billion reais).

LOFT

Loft is a São Paulo-based real estate company with a platform that acts as a marketplace for various transactions in real estate. The platform is designed to streamline the processes of buying, selling, and renting real estate.

The Loft platform offers multiple services. Users seeking to rent an apartment can use the platform to search for apartments according to city and neighborhood.

Those looking to sell a property can have access to features such as a value estimation on the property and a disclosure kit that allows the property owner to create visibility for their property via professional photos and 3D virtual tours. Users can also use the platform for guidance with the renovation process of a property.