Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), through its venture-scaling entity x15ventures, has made a minority investment in OwnHome to help fuel the rent-to-own startup’s company growth.
X15 has joined its strategic partner, SquarePeg, in OwnHome’s Series A fundraising round.
OwnHome provides an alternative path to homeownership. It allows approved, credit-worthy clients to move into their new home without the need for a deposit by paying an upfront fee and making monthly payments that build their deposit over time. After three to seven years, customers can opt to buy their home at a pre-agreed price and put the accrued deposit toward their purchase.
“Housing affordability is a challenge for many Australians, particularly young people and their families,” said Toby Norton-Smith, managing director of x15. “We believe OwnHome will provide an alternative path to home ownership, particularly for first-home buyers who are responsible savers but aren’t able to rely on the bank of mum and dad for help with the deposit.”
Angus Sullivan, CBA’s group executive retail banking services, said the investment in OwnHome “will provide greater choice to those who dream of home ownership but seek a different route to the traditional rent-and-save approach.”
x-15 has known OwnHome since it was first founded and launched with the support of its Xccelerate2020 program, which gives early-stage founders access to mentors to help them accelerate the growth of their businesses.
In just over a year, OwnHome has continued to grow its team and customer base, recently expanding into the Queensland property market. It currently has more than 3,500 applicants on the waitlist with plans to buy 200 homes for approved customers over the next two years.
