Roost, a real estate search engine that aggregates listings from the reliable Internet Data Exchange (IDX), has brought in $8 million in second-round funding. At the same time, it announced that new information about 1.5 million foreclosure-related properties will now be available on its web site -- bumping its total listings to 3.1 million.
Much like competitors Zillow, Trulia and Redfin, Roost provides basic details on properties, including size, number of bedrooms, etc. Now it also reports on foreclosure status -- alerting users when a particular house has been put up for auction or repossessed by a bank, and if so, where it is in the process. This could be a helpful tool for buyers trawling for deals considering the depressed state of the housing market.
Even so, as TechCrunch points out, Roost trails its rivals by a crushing degree when it comes to site traffic and brand recognition. Especially compared with Zillow, the site's viewership is basically nil. Granted, its service is still restricted to 30 major metropolitan areas -- leaving huge swaths of the Midwest and South uncovered. But the same is true for Redfin, which has yet to span nationwide as well but sees higher numbers. While it's late to the game, having launched at the start of this year (relative to Trulia's 2004 start, and Zillow's in 2006), Roost's new foreclosure data from First American CoreLogic, paired with new sources of listings yet to be tapped, could help it keep up with the big boys.
The San Francisco-based company has raised $13.5 million to date. The recent round came from Shasta Ventures. Its first round, amounting to $5.5 million was provided by General Catalyst Partners, The Cross Country Group and Geolo Capital.