Homa, a proptech company that charges buyers a flat fee, recently closed its first sale in Florida and plans to bring its hybrid AI and agent experience to more states.
The vision of AI-powered homebuying is quickly taking shape in Florida, and buyers in other states may soon have access to the technology.
Homa, a proptech company focused on helping buyers transact without a traditional agent, completed its first AI-assisted sale in Florida last month. CEO and co-founder Arman Javaherian said the company has been gaining momentum since launching in April, but Homa is now eyeing states like Texas and California to expand early next year.
“We still have human agents”: The company originally envisioned a fully AI-powered DIY buyer experience, but market testing in Florida showed that human buyer agents still added value to transactions. Rather than relying solely on AI tools, Javaherian believes Homa can succeed by attracting buyers with a low-fee model and using technology to handle the more laborious parts of the transaction.
“We still have human agents on our team,” Javaherian told Real Estate News. “They're still helping buyers. We're just leveraging technology to help buyers be more efficient. That's what all these brokers are trying to do now anyway.”
Fee rebate: One reason why you still need an agent is so the buyer can get a cut of the commission. Javaherian says many listing contracts say that if the seller agrees to cover the buyer's agent's commission (but the buyer is the agent), the listing agent can earn the full commission.
Homa offers a trading broker, so you can still split the commission. The company will then refund the fee to the buyer, minus a flat fee (currently $1,195). This is a huge savings. A buyer would pay about $12,000 for a $400,000 home with a 3% buyer agent fee.
“Disrupting an outdated industry”: Although Homa was initially targeted at experienced homebuyers, it is also gaining interest from first-time buyers, especially those who are price-conscious and tech-savvy. For some people, avoiding fees may be the key to buying the home they want.
“These AI-powered transactions prove that homebuyers can and should have complete control over the biggest purchase of their lives,” Javaherian said.
“We are fundamentally disrupting an outdated industry by putting expert-level knowledge directly into the hands of buyers and removing agent pressure and bias from the equation. This is a huge step toward making homeownership more accessible and affordable for everyone.”
Javaherian was also encouraged by conversations he had with politicians and other government officials about his business model.
“Access to homeownership and the high cost of housing are literally the biggest concerns for them,” Javaherian said.
