Sumutasu, a Tokyo-based proptech startup that offers a direct online real estate purchase service, has secured $8.2 million in equity and $1.6 million in debt. The company has raised a total of $16 million since its 2018 inception.
Takahiro Sumi (CEO) and Tomoya Ito (COO) co-founded Sumutasu four years ago to streamline the buying and selling of residential real estate.
In Japan, where the real estate market is fragmented, homeowners have faced uncertain selling prices riddled with brokerage fees and an average selling period of between four and eight months, Ito said. Those factors have led to a low percentage of existing homes in circulation in Japan — around 15% compared to the 80% typically seen in countries like the U.S. and the U.K., per the 2020 report of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Sumutasu says its platform enables users to access a fair house valuation in an hour.
Sumutasu has ad …
