Pacaso
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | San Francisco, California , |
Key people | Austin Allison, Spencer Rascoff |
Number of employees | 200+[1] |
| Website | pacaso.com |
Pacaso is a property broker that buys single-family homes and sells them to consortiums of buyers.[2][3] The San Francisco–based company claims it reached unicorn status faster than any other USA-based company.[4][2][3]
History
Austin Allison and Spencer Rascoff, ex-Zillow executives, co-founded the start-up in October 2020[4] in Silicon Valley, California.[5]
Pacaso’s valuation rose to $1.5 billion in September 2021 following a $125 million funding round led by SoftBank Group.
As of March 2022, the company is active in nearly 50 markets in the U.S., Spain, the U.K., and Mexico.[7][8][9]
Business model
Pacaso operates by purchasing residential properties and then selling shares of the home to up to eight buyers.[5] The company reports earning a twelve percent service fee on the sale of a share in addition to an ongoing monthly asset-management fee.[2]
The organization claims that its model differs from the traditional timeshare model because purchases count as real estate acquisitions and appreciate in value.[5] Buyers can sell their share after 12 months of ownership.[3]
Pacaso's business model has been criticized as a way around timeshare laws in California.[10] The company had to sell a house it had purchased in Napa after community opposition.[11]
References
- ^ "Pacaso". Craft. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Rascoff's Pacaso valults to unicorn status as greycroft invests". Bloomberg. March 24, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ^ a b c Singh, Pia (July 16, 2021). "Unicorn start-up Pacaso seeks to capitalize on surging vacation home prices". CNBC. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ^ a b Kirsch, Noah (April 24, 2021). "Just Five Months Old, Zillow Cofounder's Pacaso Claims It's Already A Unicorn". Forbes. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ^ a b c Potter, Everett (June 27, 2021). "Pacaso Disrupting Vacation Home Ownership". Forbes. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ^ Lanhee Lee, Jane (September 14, 2021). "Home co-ownership platform Pacaso raises $125 mln in round led by SoftBank". Reuters. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ^ Waldek, Stefanie (March 11, 2022). "The Newfangled Real Estate Companies Making Vacations Easier". Architectural Digest. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Tan, Gillian (September 14, 2021). "SoftBank Vision Fund 2 Bets on Pacaso at $1.5 Billion Valuation". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
- ^ "Real Estate Company Pacaso". nshoremag.com. May 11, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ Fry, Hannah (March 29, 2023). "Newport Beach battles a new breed of luxury party houses: fractional ownership". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ Rosalsky, Greg (August 24, 2021). "A Startup Is Turning Houses Into Corporations, And The Neighbors Are Fighting Back". NPR News. National Public Radio.