First-Time Buyer Savings Platform Foyer Raises $6.2M

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A little over one year after launching, first-time homebuyer savings platform Foyer has raised $6.2 million in capital, the company announced on Friday.

Investors who contributed to the funding round included Alpaca VC, Hometeam, Animo Ventures and ResilienceVC. Foyer, founded by former Better.com general manager Landy Liu, intends to use the capital to invest in areas of consumer confidence, savings and education.

“I’m excited to announce a major milestone in Foyer’s journey to help every first-time homebuyer in the U.S. navigate homeownership,” Liu said in a company announcement. “We have raised additional capital from several amazing, mission-aligned investors across the property technology and financial technology spheres.

“This funding round allows us to continue building the only tool that serves as an onramp for first-time homebuyers — guiding them through the homebuying journey while helping agents turn leads into closed deals,” Liu told Inman in an email. “We’ll be integrating down payment assistance, credit score recommendations, and mortgage guidance into an educational and data-driven journey. We’re going to equip our users with everything they need to plan and prepare for the biggest purchase of their lives while providing agents with high-intent, asset-qualified, buyers.”

Since launching in the fall of 2023, Foyer has grown to a platform that includes over 15,000 homebuyers. The company started out by serving homebuyers in Michigan but is now available in all 50 states.

Foyer said its average user savings goal is $42,000, and the average home price goal is $480,000.

The company provides 3.60 percent APY, high-yield savings accounts for first-time homebuyers. Foyer’s base tier is free for users, and its premium tier, which includes benefits like a 5 percent deposit match and a dedicated home advisor, costs $7.99 per month.

The company also provides tax support for registered First Time Homebuyer Savings Accounts (FHSA) and matches 2 percent of savings account deposits up to the first $10,000 of deposits. To access matching funds, buyers must purchase a home with an agent or lender of their choice (whether partnered with Foyer or not).

Vikas Raj | ResilienceVC

Foyer also provides homebuyers with educational tools and can help match first-time buyers with agents and lenders who have expertise working with this group of buyers, with no obligation to ultimately work with them. However, Foyer-partnered agents and lenders will often provide discounts to Foyer customers in exchange for what they see as high-intent, asset-qualified buyers.

Vikas Raj, co-founder and managing partner of ResilienceVC, said the company was “solving a critical challenge” in helping buyers take that initial step in becoming homeowners.

Nico Berardi | Animo Ventures

“Their pragmatic approach to simplifying and incentivizing saving for a down payment aligns perfectly with our mission to back startups that empower all Americans to build the financial resilience they need to thrive,” Raj said. “We’re thrilled to support Foyer in this journey.”

Added Animo Ventures General Partner Nico Berardi, “At ANIMO, we move toward ideas that will make a difference. Foyer’s fresh approach to addressing the affordability crisis through a 401(k)-style down payment savings tool is exactly the kind of thinking we believe has the potential to transform residential real estate. We’re proud to partner with the team as they tackle one of the biggest barriers to homeownership.”

Email Lillian Dickerson