Tackling the housing crisis with HomeShare

Trying to find a way into the New Zealand housing market can seem impossible at times. As house prices continue to rise in many of the major centres around the country, with the national average asking price reaching $669,941 in July 2019, it can seem like the dream of Kiwi home ownership is out of reach for many, particularly for younger generations.

That’s where Amy Stevens, Nicole Wilcox and Sebastian Pierce, and their new start-up HomeShare, comes in. They think one of the ways to answer the house affordability question, and to start accelerating the financial progress of millennials, is to start better sharing the load.

“Shared home ownership felt like an obvious solution to those locked out of the ongoing housing crisis and a way to get millennials into their own homes,” Amy says. “Of course, co-ownership is a solution that already exists, so why aren’t more people taking it up?”

HomeShare was born to address those issues. The start-up, powered by ASB and developed in the bank’s start up incubator, helps home buyers define their co-owner relationship and track their contributions. It does this by allowing users to work through their possible property sharing options and create co-owner terms. These terms can be turned into a legally binding contract with the help of three independent legal partners.

Once the home loan is in place, the dashboard tool allows users to track co-owners contributions.

The goal is to guide users through the process, building trust between co-owners and connecting them with other partners required throughout the home buying process. A big part of it, Nicole points out, is the transparency that comes with co-owners being prompted to make decisions upfront and manage their contributions overtime using the dashboard.

“I can remember asking someone why they hadn’t considered buying property with a friend and immediately hearing, ‘No way, that’s way too complicated, that’s way too messy.’ That’s where we come in. We want to simplify the process and introduce greater visibility, so people don’t immediately respond with those reactions. We want people to understand their obligations and see that co-ownership isn’t impossible.”

“We’re already seeing co-ownership a fair amount in certain parts of the country, often parents helping their children into homes, but there are definitely barriers, concerns around relationship management and trust,” says Amy.

“And for those that are already engaged in co-ownership, there could be room for improvement in their processes. Have they considered getting a legal agreement? For a large chunk of the younger population, the idea of sharing isn’t quite as scary as it once was. With rideshare apps or services like AirBnB, we’re seeing a sharing economy already taking place. It’s common practice.”

Sebastian has his own experience with co-ownership and is eager to provide others with the systems that has worked for him.

“I have a shared property with my mum, that we purchased five years ago, and we have a legally binding agreement. We know the importance of a good, strong contract, and how far that goes towards protecting our relationship. While we’ve outlined how most things are to be handled, we don’t tend to look at our contract; we have to work out some cost sharing along the way. That’s why I’m really excited about the dashboard and the visibility it will offer us.”

Are you interested in co-ownership or want to learn more about HomeShare? Visit their website here.