South Korea operates in its own little bubble when it comes to real estate. Everything from the Jeonse rental system to finding a home are different from other countries in Asia. However, Dongnae is hoping to change that and raised USD4.1 million for second time in six months to help support its expansion.
Dongnae aims to create a property platform where people can find listings from various real estate brokerages. This is hardly a groundbreaking concept, but no one has been able to successfully launch an online co-broking service in South Korea.
The startup says more than 70 brokerage partners are currently using Dongnae. It covers both rentals and for sale properties and charges a 0.8 percent fee. Former WeWork Asia boss Matthew Shampine founded the company.
A seed funding extension saw the proptech company raise USD4.1 million in May with investment fund NFX spearheading the effort. This comes six months after Dongnae closed a USD4.1 million seed funding round.
“It’s an exciting time of growth at our company, and we want to make sure that we are executing our go-to-market plan,” Shampine explained to TechCrunch. “Pete Flint and [principal] Brittany Yoon at NFX bring an amazing combination of real estate expertise and Korean startup experience that will be invaluable to Dongnae.”
Also Interesting: A brief guide to buying South Korean property
Can Dongnae help foreign investors enter the South Korean property market?
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Dongnae is the fact it offers bilingual service. Domestic demand will undoubtably be the startup’s primary driver, but it could eventually be a valuable tool for foreign investors looking to enter the South Korean property market.
The country has some of the most liberal ownership regulations and non-residents can purchase apartments, houses, entire buildings and land. However, the challenge for many individual investors has been the complex system of trying to find a property. Dongnae’s proptech platform just may be the solution to this problem.
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