Bowery Valuation, a tech-focused real estate appraisal firm, just raised $12 million in its latest Series A funding round.
Builders VC led the round, alongside Navitas Capital, Camber Creek, Fika Ventures and Corigin Ventures, Bowery representatives told The Real Deal. The startup, one of MetaProp’s portfolio companies, bills itself as the world’s first tech-driven commercial real estate appraisal firm. The company focuses on multifamily and mixed-use assets but plans to expand to other commercial properties this year, said Noah Isaacs, one of the company’s founders and CEOs.
Isaacs likened Bowery’s digital “toolkit” to TurboTax, saying it automatically provides basic information on a building — like its property taxes and owner. He said appraisers aren’t traditionally the most tech-savvy crowd, noting that many seem to consider Microsoft Excel a modern tool.
“It’s scary. It really is,” Isaacs said. “When you appraise the old fashioned way, it takes longer and the end product is inconsistent.”
So far the company, which was founded in 2015, has raised $19 million. Earlier this year, the company received $5 million, from investors including Cushman & Wakefield, Camber Creek and the LeFrak Organization.
Isaacs and co-CEO John Meadows indicated on Friday that the company hopes to expand to Chicago and Los Angeles and expects to be in one of those markets by the end of the year. The company, which currently has a 30-person team, also plans to grow its own appraisal practice, rather than providing the tools for other firms.
In the last few years, venture capital firms have poured money into real estate tech companies. The August issue of TRD took a close look at how such financing is changing the industry.