Perchwell, a rival to OLR and RealPlus, inks lease in Soho

Perchwell, a real estate startup that competes with OLR and RealPlus, is moving into permanent digs in Soho.

The company, which gives agents a single platform for managing listings, compiling market research and collaborating with clients, signed a seven-year lease for 3,500 square feet at SL Green Realty’s 110 Greene Street, the company said. The asking rent was $85 per square foot. Nest Seekers International’s Josh Salyi represented Perchwell, which currently works out of a nearby WeWork space.

Founder and CEO Brendan Fairbanks said Perchwell’s new digs are large enough to accommodate a slew of planned hires over the next two years, as the firm bulks up from 12 employees to 35 or 40 in the “near term.” Fairbanks, who tested a beta version of Perchwell in 2014 before rolling it out this year, said the platform is gaining traction among brokerages. “There hasn’t been much change in the industry” until recently, he said.

Perchwell has raised $4 million in seed money to date, sources told The Real Deal.

Companies like OLR and RealPlus have historically dominated the real estate data space in New York City. Until recently, they’ve provided back-end platforms for most of the city’s large residential firms. Last month, Douglas Elliman scrapped its internal listings network and hired StreetEasy to design and maintain a back-end listings portal for agents.

Perchwell, which lets agents manage listings, also provides access to building data and public records, and offers a client communication tool. Managers have a setting that lets them monitor listings and sales volume, and analyze their performance against other companies.

Fairbanks said the startup generates revenue by licensing its platform to brokerages and charging firms on a per-agent basis. Several residential brokerages are using the platform, including CORE, Warburg Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, Fox Residential and Sloane Square.