Funding led by Sutter Hill Ventures and Split Rock Partners with backing from original investors

September 18, 2006–San Francisco, CA–MyNewPlace, the largest online apartment marketplace connecting renters and property owners, today announced that it has closed $12 million in Series B financing. The investment round was led by two Silicon Valley-based firms: Sutter Hill Ventures, which has financed technology-based start-ups since 1964, and Split Rock Partners, which closed an oversubscribed $275 million first fund last year. Existing investors also participated in the round.

In a climate of housing market uncertainty, renting has become an increasingly attractive option. Already, 33% of Americans rent and 12 million renters move every year. These numbers are likely to increase as economic factors make high density urban living more desirable and more rental units appear on the market. With more than 70% of renters starting their apartment hunt online, MyNewPlace is perfectly poised to deliver what they need to make their search enjoyable, efficient and successful.

This latest financing will help the company expand its database of apartment listings, which at more than 6 million is already the largest in the country.  Additionally, MyNewPlace plans to use a significant portion of this new capital infusion to fund an increased level of online marketing to attract renters to its website.

Since its launch in May 2006, MyNewPlace has been described as a fierce competitor in the online rental space. Its success in bringing the newest Web 2.0 features to the online rental market and its continued innovation were recently recognized by Inman News, which presented MyNewPlace with its prestigious 2006 Innovator Award for the Most Innovative Rental/New Home Online Service.

MyNewPlace is the only online apartment rental service that offers prospective renters all the latest usability features including a minimalist interface with no ads or pop-ups, flexible search features and integrated mapping. For property owners, it offers an easily accountable and trackable pay-for-performance model and flexible management of listings. Paying clients listing their properties on MyNewPlace offer a $100 cash back to renters who use the website.   

“The online apartment rentals market is very crowded and competitive, however MyNewPlace’s strong apartment industry relationships and credibility, which has allowed it to sign owners and managers for its service significantly faster than any company in the industry coupled with the expertise of its management team convinced us that this would be a very attractive investment,” said Jim Simons, founding Managing Director of Split Rock Partners, also joining MyNewPlace’s board.

“We are very pleased to have Sutter Hill Ventures and Split Rock Partners lead this round, given their expertise in online consumer services and track record of success with fast-growth companies,” said John Helm, CEO and founder of MyNewPlace. “The strategic guidance and financial support from them as well as from our existing investors will help us become the leading online service for apartment hunters looking to find their new place.”

About MyNewPlace

MyNewPlace (http://mynewplace.com) is creating the largest and easiest-to-use online marketplace for apartment rentals, connecting renters and owners of all types of properties. When renters find their new place on MyNewPlace and move in, participating properties offer a rebate. Property owners get a no-risk, performance-based solution for filling their vacancies: They do not pay for advertising, instead, they pay for leases. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, MyNewPlace was founded in 2005 by John Helm who previously founded AllApartments/SpringStreet, which became the number one apartment rental and relocation site on the Internet before its sale to Homestore (NASDAQ: HOMS) in 1999. For more information, visit http://www.mynewplace.com.

Media contacts

Pia Chatterjee, Antenna Group for MyNewPlace
Pia@antennagroup.com, 415-977-1931