Bungalo, an online home-buying website, launched in the Atlanta market Thursday.
The residential real estate website, which started in 2018, describes itself as an “all-in-one home-buying platform.” Its listings include properties across the city, from Edgewood to Buckhead, at prices from $200,000 up to $1 million properties.
Bungalo, which looks to flip the script on the traditional home-buying process, is already available in Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville and Tampa.
The site is focused exclusively on recently renovated properties. One listing, with a fresh coat of white paint near Westview Cemetery, is described as being in “West Atlanta.”
"With a strong economy and a fast-growing population of aspiring home buyers, great homes in desirable neighborhoods will continue to be in demand in the Atlanta metro area,” Deb Bradley, Bungalo’s president, said in a statement.
As is true in most industries, the home-buying process has become inextricably linked to the internet.
Data from the National Association of Realtors found that among recent buyers, only 16% of people started by first contacting a real estate agent. For about half of the recent buyers, the process started by searching for properties on sites like Zillow and Redfin.
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According to the Bungalo, the company is backed by Amherst, its Austin-based parent company.
Here’s the skinny on how it works, according to the company: Bungalo lists only properties that have recently been renovated. On the website, interested homebuyers can search properties, then take a self-guided tour of the properties from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily — using the app to unlock the property.
Then, with a pre-approval letter, homebuyers can make an offer online, which Bungalo claims to be devoid of negotiations and bidding wars, stating the first buyer to make a qualified offer gets the home.
The company says its properties are inspected by a third party before they are listed. For 30 days after closing, the company says it will send team members out to correct small repairs needed in its properties.
“Atlanta homes are on average 33 years old, making them prime candidates for a modern-day design refresh, and the rigorous top-to-bottom inspection process Bungalo prides ourselves on,” Bradley said in the statement.
