Problem

Residential real-estate transactions are expensive, labor-intensive, and often slow. In New York rentals, brokerage commissions historically exceeded 12%, or nearly two months’ rent, while regulatory changes have shifted more of that cost onto property owners. Sellers also face traditional commissions around 6%, and landlords commonly pay around 10%, creating a clear economic incentive to find a lower-cost way to market, qualify, and close transactions.

The clearest use case is a New York landlord or property manager leasing one or many units who needs to fill vacancies without paying a conventional brokerage fee for repetitive work such as responding to inquiries, scheduling tours, screening applicants, and coordinating paperwork. Spotlight also targets homeowners who want full-service help selling while retaining more of their sale proceeds.

Product / Service

Spotlight Realty is an AI-powered, full-service brokerage rather than a pure software product. It handles the process from listing through closing: preparing properties with photography, virtual tours, and staging; distributing listings across MLS and major platforms such as Zillow, StreetEasy, Realtor.com, and Redfin; targeting qualified prospects; and using AI agents to answer inquiries, schedule showings, screen applicants, collect documents, and follow up around the clock.

For sellers, the platform adds offer comparison, AI analysis of terms and contingencies, digital document preparation, e-signatures, and coordination with the parties involved. Human real-estate professionals remain available for guidance and support. The value proposition is a lower commission structure—advertised at 1.5% for sellers and 4% for landlords—combined with broader visibility, faster response times, fewer lost leads, and a more streamlined closing or leasing process.

Market

Spotlight competes in AI-enabled PropTech and reduced-commission residential brokerage, initially focused on New York City and Long Island and spanning both rental leasing and home sales. Its alternatives include traditional brokerages that perform the same transaction-management work, listing marketplaces such as StreetEasy and Zillow that help owners reach prospective tenants, and low-cost full-service brokers such as Hauseit, which advertises 1% listing services in New York and Long Island. Spotlight’s differentiation is the combination of brokerage execution, AI lead handling and screening, and human support.

The company appears to be an early operating startup rather than a pre-launch concept. Y Combinator lists it as an active Summer 2025 company, with four employees and service to the NYC rental market beginning in June 2025. Public funding profiles report $500,000 raised, including Y Combinator participation, but do not disclose a revenue amount or transaction volume, so there is evidence of launch, funding, and activity but not yet of large-scale market traction.