Empowering Builders and Agents Through Innovation, Data, and Transparency.
We’re connecting builders and agents to sell new homes smarter and faster than ever before.
Our Story
We connect real estate agents and builder sales teams with better tools to promote new homes, generate high-quality leads, and track engagement—all in one place.
Our platform makes it easy to share real-time inventory, highlight community incentives, and see which homes and agents are getting the most traction.
We built New Home Buddy to make the process faster, simpler, and more transparent—for builders, agents, and buyers alike. Our goal is to strengthen the connection between agents and new home inventory, not disrupt it.
Meet the Founders
CHRIS MARTI, CEO
Chris Marti began his real estate career in San Antonio in 2011. He quickly earned a reputation as an innovative, client-first agent focused on personal service. Chris is also the founder of Housifi (formerly RebateHaus), a San Antonio-based brokerage built on affordability, and agent-focused solutions.
Over the years, Chris worked with thousands of families and recognized a recurring problem: new construction homes were difficult for agents to find, share, and sell. Between outdated MLS entries, scattered builder websites, and a lack of clarity around inventory and incentives, agents and builders alike were missing opportunities.
Chris’s deep experience in the new construction space—and his drive to make the process more collaborative and transparent—inspired him to co-found New Home Buddy. He saw a better way to connect builders and agents, and set out to build it.
His deep experience in the new construction space—combined with his drive to make the process simpler and more agent-friendly—inspired him to build New Home Buddy. He saw a gap in how new construction homes were marketed and shared, and believed there had to be a better way—so he built it.
CHRIS WATERBURY, CTO
Chris Waterbury, our Chief Technology Officer, brings a rare blend of scientific rigor and technical creativity to New Home Buddy. He is also the Co-Founder and CTO of Winnona Partners, where he has worked alongside Jonathan Richter for over 11 years, backed by a friendship spanning more than 30 years. Together, they’ve built scalable software solutions for real estate and other industries (education, tourism, and legal).
With a background in both biology and physics from Georgia Tech, Chris began his career as a research fellow with NASA’s Ribo Evo Astrobiology Institute. He later transitioned into full-stack software engineering, where he led development efforts on brokerage CRMs, real estate websites, and automation systems for mortgage workflows.
Chris is passionate about creating high-performance, user-friendly systems that solve complex industry problems. At New Home Buddy, he architects and oversees all product development—ensuring the platform is both powerful and easy to use for agents and builder sales teams alike.
JONATHAN RICHTER, COO
Jonathan Richter is a seasoned software entrepreneur and Co-Founder of New Home Buddy, where he serves as COO, and manages builder onboarding and data integrity efforts. He is also the CEO of Winnona Partners, an Atlanta-based firm specializing in custom software solutions and SEO strategy for small businesses.
Before co-founding New Home Buddy, Jonathan worked alongside Chris Marti and Chris Waterbury for nearly a decade, leading projects focused on brokerage CRM systems, real estate websites, and mortgage automation tools.
With a unique background that includes a Master of Arts in Music and advanced research on East Asian Studies as a Fulbright scholar, Jonathan brings a creative, global perspective to real estate technology. His work today is rooted in helping businesses replace outdated tools with scalable, tailored systems.
At New Home Buddy, he drives growth strategy, builder partnerships, and operational alignment to support rapid and sustainable platform expansion.
JAMES SMOTHERS, CSO
James Smothers brings more than 20 years of sales leadership experience in the homebuilding industry, with a proven track record of building high-performing teams and driving growth for some of the most respected builders in Texas. Throughout his career, James has earned a reputation as a results-driven leader known for developing sales talent, strengthening builder relationships, and creating systems that consistently deliver measurable success.
Over the years, James has successfully managed and scaled sales and marketing operations for high-volume builders, leading teams that have achieved the sale of more than 1,000 homes annually. His deep understanding of builder sales strategy, on-site performance, and market expansion has made him a trusted partner to leadership teams focused on growth.
As Chief Sales Officer at New Home Buddy, James helps guide builder partnerships and sales strategy while supporting the company’s mission to make new construction easier to market, easier to share, and easier to sell. Based in San Antonio, Texas, he continues to bring an industry-first mindset and a passion for innovation to every builder relationship.
The Origin of New Home Buddy
New Home Buddy officially launched in San Antonio in February 2025 with one mission: make new home sales smarter through builder to agent connections.
What started as a simple link-sharing tool has evolved into a full-featured platform for:
- Sharing branded home collections with buyers
- Highlighting builder incentives and specials
- Capturing real-time lead activity and client engagement
- Giving builders visibility into top-performing reps, listings, and agents
And it works. In just a few months, we’ve helped builders generate thousands of clicks, dozens of new leads, and real insight into what drives their sales.
Our Beliefs
- We support agents. Our tools are designed to help agents win. Every home shared is branded to them. Every lead they generate is theirs and theirs alone.
- We promote transparency. Builders and agents should know what’s working. That’s why we share clear, measurable data on listings, engagement, and agent activity.
- We earn trust through results. There are no fees for agents. No bait-and-switch tactics. And we don’t sell leads or favor one brokerage over another.
- We believe in smart growth. We’re expanding market by market, in close partnership with builders who value innovation and want to move faster without sacrificing trust.
What’s Next?
After our successful launch in San Antonio and Austin, we’re preparing to roll out Houston and Dallas markets.
We’re also building new features that make it easier for agents to follow up with buyers, for builders to measure ROI, and for both sides to connect without friction.
At New Home Buddy, we believe that when you build trust and transparency into the new home sales process, everyone wins.
Want to learn more or see how it works? Visit our Training page or contact us schedule a live demo with our team.
