Homa raises $5 million, expands statewide in California and adds an in-app mortgage feature
The seed round funds a California rollout and a buydown offer. The up-to-2% buyer credit depends on seller-paid commission, and the 0.75-point buydown is an advertised maximum, not a rate quote.
By Aida Yousif · 3 min read
Homa, an Austin-based home-buying platform that pairs an AI search and offer tool with a licensed real estate brokerage, said on Oct. 15 that it raised $5 million in seed funding. Quiet Capital led the round, and Restive Ventures and Cambrian Ventures also took part. The company said the money will pay for its California expansion, a mortgage feature inside its platform and a mobile app planned for later in 2026. Homa release via Business Wire.
Two dates, two events
The funding news and the California rollout are not the same event. Homa says it soft-launched in California on Sept. 1, after starting in Florida in 2025 and Texas in June 2026. The Oct. 15 release says it is now available statewide in California. The company names Arman Javaherian and Federico Campeotto as cofounders.
How the buyer credit works
Homa's main pitch is a credit at closing of up to 2% of the purchase price. Its website spells out the conditions. The credit depends on the seller paying a commission to the buyer's broker. Homa keeps a fee of 1% of the price, with a $4,995 minimum, and passes the rest back. The buyer can then put it toward closing costs, a lower price or a rate buydown, within the lender's limits. Homa mortgage page.
So the credit is a share of a commission, not free cash. If a seller offers little or no buyer-broker commission, the credit shrinks or disappears. A lender may also cap how much of the credit can be applied.
What the mortgage feature is
The new feature lets buyers arrange a loan inside the platform. Homa's site says loan products and services are offered through Homa Mortgage, its mortgage brokerage, or its partner lenders. The company advertises that applying the credit to a buydown can lower a rate by as much as 0.75 percentage point. That is an advertised maximum. The actual reduction depends on the loan, the lender and the size of the credit, and paying for a lower rate is the same trade-off as buying discount points. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains how points and lender credits work. This is a single company's offer. It does not mean mortgage rates have fallen.
The licenses are split by company. Homa's disclosures list Homa Realty as a licensed real estate broker in California, Florida and Texas. They list Homa Mortgage, NMLS ID 2856931, as a licensed mortgage broker in Florida and Texas only. The disclosures do not list a California mortgage license for Homa Mortgage. Both companies are wholly owned by Homa AI, and Homa states that buyers are not required to use Homa Mortgage to buy a home through Homa Realty. Homa licensing disclosures. Buyers can check any lender's state licenses on the free NMLS Consumer Access lookup, and comparing a Loan Estimate from at least one other lender shows whether a buydown actually saves money.
This article is not an endorsement of Homa or its products.
Cover: original mortgage.news graphic using facts from Homa's Oct. 15 release; not a Homa document or logo.
Watch: the verified facts in 15 seconds
Transcript (on-screen text; original instrumental music, no narration): HOMA | ANNOUNCED OCT. 15, 2026; SEED FUNDING; $5 million; Led by Quiet Capital; With Restive Ventures and Cambrian Ventures. EXPANSION; NOW STATEWIDE IN; California; Soft launch Sept. 1, alongside Florida and Texas; Mobile app planned later in 2026. THE OFFER; BUYER CREDIT, UP TO; 2%; Only when the seller pays a buyer-broker commission; Homa keeps 1% of price, $4,995 minimum. MORTGAGE FEATURE; BUYDOWN, AS MUCH AS; 0.75 pt; Advertised maximum, not a guaranteed rate; Not a sign that market rates fell.