Housing Market Is Stuck – But What If You Could Name Your Price To Move? One Startup Says It's Coming"

A new startup is betting millions of homeowners would sell their properties if the price was right.

Galleon, a digital real estate platform launched this year, lets homeowners privately list the price they would accept for their home, even if they’re not actively looking to sell. The approach aims to unlock inventory in a historically tight housing market where just 2.5% of U.S. homes changed hands in the first eight months of this year – the lowest turnover rate in at least 30 years, according to data issued by Redfin.

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“What we’re doing is giving people that have a home that would be persuaded to sell it at a certain price the opportunity to list it in as low-friction, as fast and as simple a manner as possible,” Amanda Orson, Galleon's CEO and founder, told U.S. housing market research company Resiclub.

The platform has collected over 14,000 listings from homeowners interested in selling at their specified price point. None of the properties are currently listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), representing potential hidden inventory in a market starved for supply.

The launch comes as the U.S. housing market remains largely frozen. Redfin reports that just 32 out of every 1,000 homes were listed for sale in early 2024, the lowest level since at least 2012.

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Many homeowners remain reluctant to sell due to the “lock-in effect” of their low mortgage rates, with nearly 60% of active mortgages carrying rates below 4%, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“The universe of people that would sell is just a magnitude larger than the universe of people who actually sell,” Orson told ResiClub.

Galleon plans to generate revenue through software licensing fees and lead generation services while keeping the platform free for individual homeowners and buyers.

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The company is currently in beta testing as it develops its marketplace model.

The need for innovation in housing is clear. Los Angeles saw the lowest turnover rate of any major metro area, with just 15 of every 1,000 homes changing hands – a 32% decrease from the pre-COVID era. Even traditionally active markets like Phoenix have seen slowdowns compared to recent years.

“Getting to a healthy housing market is very hard from this point,” said Chen Zhao, Redfin’s economic research lead. “The answer is either some variation of, you need a huge amount of supply right to come on, whether that's new construction or we somehow unlock existing homeowners.”

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