A Block Approach to Ownifying Houses (Transmission #299)

WRITTEN BY: BRAD HARGREAVES

This week, Brad Hargreaves explores Ownify's "bricks" fractional ownership model as one of the promising approaches in the landscape of players working to unstick the housing market. Last week, Pierre Calzadilla suggested that driving agent adoption after partnerships requires detailed contracts, pre-launches with influencer agents, and face-to-face engagements.

Let's get to it...

[Adapted from Deep Dive: Ownify on Thesis Driven.]

Homeownership is stuck. Persistently high interest rates have locked renters out of the market and prevented existing owners from moving or refinancing. But an increasing number of companies are attempting to change that—attempting to help “unstick” home ownership.

One such company is Ownify, which uses a fractional ownership model to help renters transition into homeowners. By embracing a more direct ownership model, the company seeks to improve on  flaws in the traditional rent-to-own model. Frank Rohde, co-founder and CEO of Ownify, spent 15 years in the mortgage analytics business before launching the company in late 2022 alongside former Divvy COO Ben Herold.

THE HOMEOWNERSHIP CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION
While the “unsticking the housing market” landscape could be divided along several lines, it’s straightforward to split the universe into two categories: