Single-family data startup Entera raises $32M

A data startup that helps investors buy single-family homes got $32 million in backing led by Goldman Sachs.

Entera, founded by CEO Martin Kay, develops software that lets investors analyze property records to find homes that match their purchase criteria. Its clients include single-family-rental giant Invitation Homes. Entera’s software has helped buyers acquire about $1 billion worth of properties since it launched in 2018, Bloomberg News reported.

“We’ve had insatiable demand from our customers, who want to spend a whole bunch of money,” Kay told the publication. “We are trying to build everything we need to service existing customers and continue to grow.”

Goldman’s investment arm, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, led the funding round, which included Bullpen Capital, Craft Ventures and Valuestream Ventures, according to Bloomberg.

Until recently, institutional investors stayed away from single-family homes because they were difficult to acquire and costly to manage. But the foreclosure crisis during the Great Recession changed the equation, providing investors with cheaper options. The emergence of big data companies such as Entera is further advancing the single-family investing trend.

Goldman is backing Entera because its software allows investors to choose homes to buy and to complete transactions, said Paul Pate, a vice president in the growth equity business at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in an email to the outlet.

“As a result, Entera is both a beneficiary and an enabler of the growing single-family rental asset class,” he said.

[Bloomberg News] — Akiko Matsuda