Closing housing gap via innovation

Closing housing gap via innovation | Daily Tribune

Besides fulfilling a basic need for shelter, owning a home gives people a sense of pride, accomplishment, freedom and peace of mind and these can be achieved faster by matching buyers and sellers through the use of technology.

With 6.5 million families without their own homes, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered related government agencies to double-time in building affordable houses and distributing them to those in need.

Lhoopa founder and chief executive officer Marc-Olivier Caillot wants to contribute to achieving this meaningful goal through the company’s app-based property technology (prop-tech).

The Lhoopa app provides an online marketplace where users can view property listings for house and lot units across the country, home prices, financing products from partner lenders, and notary services for proper documentation.

As a complete tool, the Lhoopa app also allows contractors to explore projects they can help build and connect home seekers to brokers who can guide them in the purchase process.

“Since we started our journey in proptech, our vision has always been to create a much-needed change in real estate and a world where homeownership becomes attainable for all,” Caillot said in an email to DAILY TRIBUNE.

Since it was established in 2018, Lhoopa has sold over 3,000 houses in 59 cities and partnered with over 100 contractors and more than 4,000 brokers and agents. It targets to provide over 15,000 affordable homes over the next three years.

Houses offered on the app sell at P500,000 to P2 million, require little to no down payment, and are deliverable to buyers in a six-month average period.

Shelter must be affordable

“Lhoopa focuses on making homes accessible to low to mid-income consumers. By combining technology with real estate, Lhoopa could create scalable and profitable solutions that also had a significant social impact, helping to uplift communities and contribute to sustainable development goals,” Caillot said.

The story of Tatay Jojo, a father of three children, is proof that Lhoopa has been able to realize every Filipino’s dream of owning a home as his house in Tanza, Cavite was turned over to his family last year.

Tatay Jojo saved up money from doing multiple jobs, such as a mason, a driver, and a farmer in his hometown in Zamboanga.

“If we continue to live in rental houses until we are old, we won’t be able to see where all of our hard work has gone. And if our children ask where their father’s hard-earned money went, I’ll have something to show,” he shared through the Lhoopa website.

Recalling his financial struggles, Tatay Jojo added that Lhoopa truly made buying a home within reach of an average individual with its efficient system for customer analysis and lending partners.

He shared that buying a simple phone worth P11,000 was difficult as his loan application for this item was rejected eight times.

“We went to multiple malls but got rejected every time. If that’s the case then why was our loan to buy a motorcycle got approved? Why did we get approved to buy a house and lot?” Tatay Jojo told Lhoopa.

Based on Lhoopa’s survey, 92 percent of its buyers are first-time homeowners and 98 percent feel secure in their houses.

For contractors, Lhoopa works with small and medium contractors with at least 10 workers.

Technology-driven

“We aimed to create a system that could rapidly deploy homes by utilizing data, and a network of local brokers and contractors,” Caillot said.

Lhoopa uses artificial intelligence, machine learning solutions, and data analytics across its range of tools for partner agents, brokers, and contractors in making the home buying process faster, cost-efficient, and tailored to buyers’ specific needs and financial capabilities.

Caillot, who hails from a French working-class family and was the first member of his family to graduate beyond high school, earned his master’s degrees in applied mathematics, computer science and entrepreneurship.

He was able to apply his vast knowledge to Wall Street in New York and in Accenture in Paris where he developed mathematical models and technological assets for stock trading and investment banking.

However, Caillot saw that his acquired knowledge and skills could produce a bigger impact on the housing sector, stressing his “desire to address a pressing social need which is the shortage of affordable homes in emerging markets.”

With Lhoopa co-founder Sabrina Tan, who was born in the Philippines and finished her master’s degree in Education and a doctoral degree in Psychology in New York, the proptech (property technology) company maximized the use of technology for housing, improving the owners’ well-being and, ultimately, empowering them in helping national progress.

VC Deal of the Year

In July, Lhoopa announced it completed raising $80 million from equity and debt instruments to help provide more affordable homes in the Philippines.

Lhoopa said the fresh funds will be used to enhance technology systems and offer financing options for eco-friendly homes.

“This funding marks a pivotal moment for Lhoopa as we scale our operations to meet the growing demand for affordable housing in Southeast Asia,” Caillot said.

In the Philippines alone, the Philippine Statistics Authority projects the country’s population to grow to 138 million by 2055 from 117 million last year.

“The investment will strengthen Lhoopa’s technological capabilities, allowing for better support of its local partners, improved data analytics, and the development of new green housing options,” Caillot said.

Out of the $80 million funding, Lhoopa secured a total equity of $20 million from major financiers World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and venture capitalist Wavemaker Partners with offices in Los Angeles and Singapore.

Other fund sources include Pavilion Capital, 10X Group, Concentric Equity Partners, Mirath Investments, NataRock Partners Fund, Black Kite Capital, Patamar Capital, and Tekton Ventures.

Individual investors are PropertyGuru Group and Wavemaker Impact co-founder Steve Melhuish and Coins. ph co-founder Ron Hose.

The remaining $60 million came in the form of debt from the Asian Development Bank, IFC and Lendable. The last is based in the United Kingdom and lends to technology firms that advocate inclusive socio-economic growth.

Through its innovative housing solutions, Lhoopa has been recognized by the Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (SVCA) as part of the “VC Deal of the Year” Award given to Wavemaker Partners.

“This marks Lhoopa as only the second startup from the Philippines to be involved in a VC Deal of the Year award by SVCA,” Caillot said.

“We hope that they will inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs, not just in the Philippines but across Southeast Asia, to create significant value by solving big, compelling problems in their unique ways,” Wavemaker Partners managing partner Paul Santos told Lhoopa.

Relentless in creating innovations and opportunities for a decent living for everyone, Caillot said Lhoopa’s team is piquing their brains for wider socio-economic inclusion.

“Lhoopa is committed to setting new benchmarks in both affordable housing and technological innovation, contributing to the reduction of housing deficits in the region,” he said.

“The company’s commitment to affordability is reflected in its continuous efforts to keep costs low and its focus on reaching even lower social classes in future projects,” Caillot continued.