Aalto

Aalto is a residential real estate platform that enables homeowners to directly list their properties for sale. Its platform, launched in April 2021, helps connect sellers with pre-qualified buyers, makes faster home listing with minimal procedural delays, eliminates middlemen and expensive commissions, and provides data analytics on market trends. Sellers are able to market their real estate by creating their own descriptions, which would otherwise be done by the agent. These personal ads can be appealing to some buyers. The platform claims to facilitate faster house listings (made within five minutes) which can otherwise take up to five weeks.

The platform provides buyers the option to receive instant alerts, get into waiting lists of listed homes, schedule screenings, and pre-qualify themselves directly with the seller. It also claims to enhance the traditional real estate transaction process by providing sellers with more control, eliminating the contract requirement for homeowners to make a listing. Aalto’s platform charges a 1% fee on sale and offers licensed expert help to sellers who need it.

As of January 2022, Aalto’s platform operates across California in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Sonoma.

As of August 2021, the company served more than 30,000 buyers and had sold around 20 homes via its platform. It claimed to have close to 85 house listings, with an average of one new home being added to its platform per day.

Key customers and partnerships

The company has partnered with FlyHomes to provide its services to Californian homebuyers.