If you enter a Dubai bank to apply for a mortgage in 2020, when it comes to listing, you could be buried in documents or face a major price contradiction. This experience led Jad Antoun to start Huspy. This is a startup that streamlines the way UAE people buy homes digitally.
Over the past five years, the company has grown into one of the largest prop-texes in the UAE, expanding to Spain by providing digital tools to find a home and get a mortgage.
Huspy has shut down its $59 million Series B, doubling operations across the Middle East and expanding its European presence led by existing investor Balderton Capital.
In 2022, Haspy raised more than $40 million in Series A, expanding from WHO, a global investor that includes Balderton Capital, Founders Fund and Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & Sea).
Other investors include Ventures, Dalla Management, Exborder Partners by KE Partners, Turmeric Capital, Cotu Ventures and Cotu Ventures. The new capital will promote continued growth of Haypee in the UAE and Spain and support its launch in Saudi Arabia, Anton told TechCrunch in an interview.
This investment is important as Proptech has been a tough sector for the past few years. Companies like Opendoor and Compass struggle to maintain their valuation and profitability amid high interest rates in the US. Many startups are also struggling with burning out with cash.
“We’ve been working hard to get the most out of our business,” said Rana Yared, general partner at Balderton Capital.
Anton said he learned how to target issues in the country’s mortgage process through his first market in the UAE. He attacked partnerships with major banks and introduced digital pre-approval on a platform that connects brokers and borrowers.
Within three years, the company says it has acquired 30% of the UAE’s mortgage market (25% in Dubai, one of the most active real estate markets in the world). Its traction and, as a result, the exclusive banking relationship it built has become a springboard for expansion.
According to Antoun, it began expanding in 2022 to Spain, a contractional real estate market to Spain.
Rather than owning inventory like the Ibuyer model or operating as a traditional brokerage company, Huspy runs a network-based model across the UAE and Spain. Freelance agents use the platform to access property leads from markets such as Property Finder and Idealista, while Huspy offers CRM tools, transaction support and integrated mortgage products through bank partners.
This is a lower overhead approach to real estate that is more like Uber than Zillow.
With the investment team at early stage VC BeCo Capital, previously based in Dubai, and Ziad Nassar, deputy CEO who leads Huspy’s European expansion, the company believes they have found a repetitive model that is difficult to replicate.
Within a year, Hapy claims to be one of Valencia’s top three real estate companies by transaction volume. It already operates in six Spanish cities and claims to grow more than 20 times the year before.
“I think it’s difficult for someone to compete in mortgage products, especially in both markets,” Anton said. “We’ve been here for a long time, but in Spain, we’re getting more efficient.”
The startup has more than 25,000 people have bought homes across the market, increasing revenues more than 10 times since 2022, according to Antoun. This usually generates revenue from real estate agents and banks through fees and success fees, driving transactions of over $7 billion.
Over the next four years, the company is expected to launch in most major cities in Europe and the Middle East. This is the region that currently has a Prop Tech moment, and another major player, Nawy, has also gathered important rounds this year. Huspy plans to operate in more than 10 cities by the end of 2025.
