HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
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purchase mortgage or deed of trust — accounted for 22 percent of all single family purchase loan originations in Q1 2017. This is up from 20 percent in Q1 2016. By banding together, co-buyers can afford more home than they could alone. At the same time, they may be able to reduce their risk exposure as they may no longer need to stretch to afford a home they would enjoy. Imagine the individual who alone may qualify for a $500,000 home and with a friend or loved one can purchase an $800,000 home with just $400,000 exposure in their 50 percent ownership. An added benefit can be the social aspects of living with friends or family of your choosing. At CoBuy, we have been surprised to discover just how many different cohorts of people are finding benefits in co- buying. Three of the earliest adopters who we’ve been working with are: The beauty of co-buying is that it is quick and does not require policy change. Co-buying creates supply from existing inventory by expanding the target properties within reach for new buyers. Sharing a home also decreases demand as you may have multiple “heads of household” occupying one dwelling instead of two or three. Just as eating a healthy diet was happening long before the term “vegetarian” or “vegan” became • Unmarried • Intergenerational households • Friends
mainstream, co-buying has been around for all time. Like eating healthy, there is a body of information and there are a host of advisors who can provide structure, guidance and protection to enable a positive co- buying, co-living and co-ownership experience. It’s an exciting time to be an entrepreneur, especially in the financial and real estate space. It’s especially invigorating to see new forms of ownership evolve and become a part of the mainstream conversation. Just
in the last couple months, we’ve seen IKEA launch an experimental project called One Shared House 2030 challenging us to imagine the way we’ll live in the future. Others, like WeWork are also tackling the opportunities of co-living with their nascent WeLive project. As we enter the new frontier of collaborative working and living, as business leaders we will certainly be called upon to help answer and explore some of the toughest questions that arise around real estate, finances and the social, ecological and economic impacts of the coming changes.
PAMELA HUGHES Pamela Hughes is Co-Founder of CoBuy, Inc. Prior to founding CoBuy, Inc. she was a successful broker in the state of Washington for nearly 15 years with Coldwell Banker Bain and Keller Williams. Pam is an advocate for a financial planning approach to helping people build and protect wealth with real estate.
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DECEMBER 2017 | ATTOM DATA SOLUTIONS
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