CREXi bids to make commercial real estate more competitive

A new startup called CREXi is trying to rethink the commercial real estate marketplace with a new online exchange that aims to fulfill the entire buying process from the initial viewing to signing on the dotted line.

CREXi isn't the first online platform that's tried to do this of course, but it's definitely one of the best. Having been up and running for three months, CREXi now boasts some 200 listings on its site worth a combined value of almost $800 million. The company itself has also just secured $4.3 million in venture capital funding from Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Freestyle Capital, TenOneTen Ventures, Founder Collective, Karlin Ventures, Leon Capital Group and others.

CREXi is a broker-friendly platform that can also be used by property owners and buyers as well. Famous brokerages including CBRE, Marcus & Millichap and Cushman & Wakefield are already said to be using the platform, which facilitates listing and searches for properties, and also allows users to look through due diligence documents, schedule in-person tours, view listings analytics and submit offers. The next step, coming soon, is integration with DocuSign so that all documents can be signed off electronically.

These are all pretty standard features of any online marketplace though, but CREXi stands out thanks to its “best and final offers” feature. For example, should a seller receive two or more very similar bids on a property, they can set up a limited time window during which prospective buyers can bid against each other.

“If I’m the buyer, I can come and I can see the price is posted, and by seeing where I need to be with the offer, it gives me confidence to make a better one,” Luke Morris, chief product officer at CREXi, told TechCrunch. “Through transparency, you can get great competitiveness. It’s only human nature … That’s what we saw in our previous career.”