Can You Depend On That Data? How Dwellsy Is Different From Other Rental Market Platforms

As some other property data providers are generating negative headlines and the broader proptech market is foundering, startup Dwellsy made positive news when it raised $11.5M in an oversubscribed seed funding round in November. CEO Jonas Bordo said the milestone was doubly significant for the residential rental website he co-founded four years ago. 

For one thing, Bordo said, the influx of money allows Dwellsy to continue to scale up to meet the growing demand for trustworthy listings, property rental prices and other data in the multifamily and single-family home rental markets. 

“We are growing and investing even during a difficult time for so many in commercial real estate,” he said. “We're adding data engineers and scientists, and customer service and sales team members to meet the expanding demand for our data and to refine our offerings.”

Bordo said the success of its funding round also demonstrated that major investors, including Ulu Ventures, Frontiers Capital and the University of Chicago, see value in its unique business model, which emphasizes the reliability and accuracy of the information it provides to landlords and tenants.

“This funding was raised on the strength of our developing marketplace and the value it creates for renters and landlords, as well as our rapidly growing data sales business,” Bordo said. “Our approach is revolutionary, and the venture capital marketplace has reacted positively to the opportunity it represents.”

Dwellsy sources data directly from the property management software of more than 20,000 property managers, and it encompasses more than 30% of U.S. rental listings, which is about triple the scope of other platforms, he said.

Unlike many competing services, it does not scrape the web for data that might be dated. Nor does it use survey findings, which can be unreliable in an era when people can easily screen incoming phone calls. The Dwellsy platform also does not depend on exhaust data drawn from online activity, a process that can be unwieldy as well as raise ethical concerns.

Dwellsy avoids the pay-to-play practices of other data providers, instead allowing owners and managers to list and lease their vacant units for free. Bordo said investors see the value in this approach, as do a growing number of property owners and managers.

This became clear at the National Multifamily Housing Council's recent OPTECH event in Las Vegas, where Bordo said the Dwellsy team met with “a flood” of attendees who voiced concern about the lawsuits filed against many of Dwellsy’s competitors in the past year. The suits allege those companies engaged in rental price collusion with large landlords. The litigation includes an antitrust enforcement action filed by the attorney general of the District of Columbia against one of the biggest players in this space, along with more than a dozen large apartment landlords.  

“We had multiple people at OPTECH say to us, ‘Our general counsel has told us we can't use any of our existing data sources. What do you have?,’” he said. “What Dwellsy has to offer them is the largest, most granular and cleanest data set available in our category, offering unique insights that others can't match for depth, breadth, accuracy and timeliness.”

Bordo listed several questions landlords should ask when deciding which data set to use. Chief among them: What is the source of the property data?

“Since all of Dwellsy’s data is delivered to us via listings, property managers have a legal responsibility to make sure it is accurate,” he said. “Also, there is no human touch in the collection or processing of our data, which eliminates human error in the acquisition process — an issue that creates massive problems with survey-based data in particular.”

Another key consideration is the granularity of the information. Unlike other platforms that aggregate or abstract data from the original source, Dwellsy can say what happened at a specific rental unit at a single point in time because it relies on “highly specific facts, not someone's concept of what the facts might be,” Bordo said.  

Timeliness is also important. While some providers’ data can be out of date by several months or quarters, Dwellsy’s information is updated within minutes of an event such as a new listing or a pricing update, he said.

“Market conditions can change rapidly, and if your data is months old, you'll be reacting late to new developments, missing out on opportunities and failing to avoid risk,” Bordo said.

Those aren’t the only risks an approach like Dwellsy can help rental owners and managers avoid. Chudi Anyaeche, director of digital marketing for Dwellsy, said the company offers its customers a way to avoid the liability trap that has ensnared dozens of landlords who worked with other platforms and are now accused of price-fixing.

“We view the Dwellsy platform as a workaround solution to help property owners and managers avoid falling victim to similar issues,” he said.

Its recent influx of funding will allow Dwellsy to further develop its platform as an alternative to the risks and limitations of other platforms, Bordo said.

“We're doing something much more precise and specific, which results in previously unavailable insights for data buyers, high-quality leads for landlords and a more effective and efficient rental search for renters,” he said.

This article was produced in collaboration between Dwellsy and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.