Homesnap, a US-based property search engine developer backed by newspaper publisher AH Belo, received $14m on Tuesday in a series B round led by growth equity firm Updata Partners.
The round also featured real estate-focused VC fund Moderne Ventures as well as undisclosed additional investors. It took Homesnap’s overall funding to more than $32m, the company said.
Founded in 2008 as Sawbuck Realty, Homesnap has created a web and mobile-based search engine for detailed real estate listings that links directly to the property’s listing agent, meaning prospective buyers do not have to interact through a third-party platform.
The technology helps underpin Broker Public Portal, a partnership set up by US-based property brokers and listing services to simplify the process of finding a home.
Homesnap is used by more than 125 US-based listings services that jointly represent more than 800,000 estate agents.
A premium edition, Homesnap Pro, offers additional features for registered agents including real-time comparative market analysis and live messaging with their clients. Homesnap will use the funding to add more tools to the premium package.
AH Belo led Homesnap’s $2m series A round in 2009, before Revolution Ventures, the VC branch of private equity firm Revolution, and angel investor Robert Stewart supplied $3.5m in 2012.
The company raised $5.6m in debt financing in 2015 and $3m in equity funding the year after, according to regulatory filings.