Zefir, situated in Paris, has raised €11 million. One of the most stressful life events is purchasing or selling a house, and in France, this is made worse by a highly fragmented real estate industry that is distributed over more than 40,000 firms.
The economic downturn that began in 2022 has made it harder for homeowners to sell. The average sale time has climbed to more than 110 days, and in 2023, the percentage of French real estate brokers filing for bankruptcy rose to 117%.
Zefir was established in 2020 with the goal of expediting real estate transactions, beginning with immediate house purchases. Zefir introduced a "Collective Selling" strategy in January 2023, which integrates the disjointed real estate sector. By utilising technology, the approach facilitates agency collaboration and expedites the exchange of information between buyers and sellers.
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Zefir speeds up matches and significantly increases the efficiency of buying and selling by combining resources from hundreds of agencies, such as client databases and property listings, onto a single platform and using Al to expedite workflows.
Remy Fabre, Zefir co-founder and CEO: "Rising interest rates aren't the sole cause of the slowdown in the real estate market. The long- standing 'every person for themselves' approach has hurt sellers, buyers, and agents alike. By reshaping the roles in real estate transactions and guaranteeing adequate compensation for everyone, we've managed to halve the time it takes to buy and sell homes while boosting agents' earnings."Remy Fabre, Zefir co-founder and CEO: "Rising interest rates aren't the sole cause of the slowdown in the real estate market. The long- standing 'every person for themselves' approach has hurt sellers, buyers, and agents alike. By reshaping the roles in real estate transactions and guaranteeing adequate compensation for everyone, we've managed to halve the time it takes to buy and sell homes while boosting agents' earnings."
Elizabeth Chrystal of Zigg Capital said: "Zefir is reshaping the European real estate landscape, showcasing the power of cooperation and technology. Their approach represents a significant transformation in a traditionally fragmented and highly competitive market."
George Robson, partner at Sequoia Capital: "The Zefir team has exhibited unparalleled grit and agility in navigating the shifting dynamics of the market and evolving client demands. Their execution of a strategic pivot not only achieved rapid product-market fit but also set the company up for remarkable growth into 2024 and beyond."
With the additional funds, the business plans to expand its investments in Product and Al, developing more effective solutions that facilitate and expedite transactions for buyers, sellers, and agents. By 2024, it wants to have tripled the value of transactions and continued to expand its network of real estate experts.
About Zefir
Zefir opposes the real estate industry's pervasive "every man for himself" ethos. They have developed the first collaborative sales platform that promotes collaboration among all agents while expediting the exchange of information between buyers and sellers.
They were redefining efficiency and transparency in the real estate sector by assigning different agents different responsibilities, making sure that everyone gets paid fairly, monitoring and reviewing work, and consolidating a buyer and property network.