Letgo Takes On Facebook Marketplace And OfferUp

The app letgo, which enables users to buy and sell locally, announced Monday (Jan. 22) that it is getting into the housing market.

In a press release, the startup said that users can now browse and list homes and other properties for sale. The new functionality is being rolled out gradually, and will be available to all users in the U.S. by the end of January.

“We see this as the natural evolution of a vast and diverse marketplace like ours, especially as we approach the 100 million download milestone,” said Alec Oxenford, co-founder of letgo. “We’ve designed letgo to make it effortless to list what you don’t need and find what you do in your own neighborhood, whether that’s a snowboard, an SUV or a two-bedroom apartment with a view.”

With the app, users can add photos and details to property listings at anytime with just a few taps. They can also filter local listings when searching for properties, and can live-chat within the app.

The launch into housing is seen as a direct threat to Craigslist, which also enables local listings. Entering the housing market signifies a big expansion for letgo, which has seen the popularity of its app grow widely. Last fall, the company said that 75 million customers have downloaded letgo, and that there have been 200 million listings, including everything from cars to video games. Meanwhile, comScore recently ranked letgo, which launched in 2015, second among the fastest-growing apps in the U.S.

In November, Facebook got into the real estate market, teaming up with Apartment List and Zumper to bring real estate listings to its Marketplace retail platform. According to a report from Engadget at the time, the new partnerships would enable U.S. Facebook users to peruse hundreds of thousands of apartment rental units. Initially, the launch was to include search filters, such as location, price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, type of rental, square footage and whether or not pets are allowed. Landlords can also upload 360-degree photos to their real estate listings.