Vacasa, prepping for IPO, expands into real estate

Vacasa's headquarters in Portland's Pearl District. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian)

Portland vacation management company Vacasa said Thursday it plans to expand into the real estate business. Its new referral service opens a revenue opportunity for the company as it prepares to begin courting investors for its initial public offering.

Vacasa markets and manages vacation rental homes for the properties' owners. An upstart in the vacation industry, founded just nine years ago, Vacasa says it manages 9,000 homes altogether.

Backed by $140 million in outside investment, including a $103.5 million round last fall, Vacasa is working to consolidate the fragmented vacation home management business. It is buying up small management companies in destination communities across the country and wooing vacation home owners with promises of higher returns on their rentals.

Vacasa said in May that it has begun planning for an IPO. The company doesn't report its financial results but, if it hopes to appeal to the public markets, Vacasa will need to demonstrate rapid growth and the potential to maintain that pace.

Vacasa's new real estate arm seeks to be a referral service for real estate agents. The company said nearly 5 percent of its homeowners sell their rental property each year and it promises rental history information and other market data to real estate agents who sign up for its service.

-- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699

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