Divvy Homes, a company that creates homeowners through its unique savings model, today expands into two new markets. Now, residents in Phoenix, AZ and San Antonio, TX can safely transition from renter to owner with Divvy in lock-step along the way. With nearly $300 million in combined equity and debt capital, Divvy will continue to thoughtfully expand into new cities to work toward its goal of creating hundreds of thousands of homeowners.
“The American Dream of owning a home is still very much there, even as macroeconomics have made it harder for many to imagine themselves fulfilling that dream,” said Adena Hefets, co-founder and CEO of Divvy. “As we continue to join more communities, we’re so excited to give more people access to the wealth-building opportunity of homeownership.”
Divvy believes in the value of homeownership, aiming to create a world where every person can own their forever home. Divvy partners with renters on their path to homeownership by helping them find their budget for a home, buying the home they want, and then renting it back to them for three years. During that time, renters build the down payment savings needed to buy it outright, while also learning the ins and outs of responsible homeownership. In just two years, the company has helped save an average of $5,000 per household; receives more than 10,000 applications each month; and has gotten hundreds of folks into homes in existing markets Atlanta, GA; Cleveland, OH; Dallas, TX; Memphis, TN, St. Louis, MO; and Tampa, FL.
The Divvy team decides what markets the company will expand into after determining where Divvy’s offerings will make the greatest impact. And after months of extensive market research and a few company trips, Phoenix and San Antonio were ultimately selected for their strong employment, housing fundamentals, and superior home quality. By expanding into these two cities, the Divvy program is now available to an additional three million people across the country.
Based in San Francisco, Divvy is straying from the typical Silicon Valley model, instead looking beyond their own neighborhoods and needs to serve folks everyday Americans looking to access the nation’s greatest wealth builder. Real estate agents can also use Divvy to grow their business, as the company partners with local agents who take renters out on the town to find their forever home. The best agents bring buyer leads and use Divvy as a resource to create more homeowners.
Divvy has grown rapidly since its launch in 2017, expanding from Atlanta, GA and Cleveland, OH; to Memphis, TN; to Dallas, TX; St. Louis, MO; and Tampa, FL , and now Phoenix, AZ and San Antonio, TX – with plans to roll out in more cities in the future. To date, the company has raised close to $300M in total capital, with backing from GIC, Lennar, Caffeinated Capital, a16z, SciFi VC.
How it works
Divvy partners along every step of the homebuying process, with the goal of helping renters transition into homeownership. Buying a home with Divvy starts with a five-minute application that results in an approved home-buying budget and an introduction to a real estate agent who helps find their forever home.
Once found, Divvy purchases the property, while the renter contributes an initial 2 percent of the home value to officially step onto the path to homeownership.
Approximately 25 percent of each subsequent rent payment goes toward saving for a traditional mortgage, so the new residents have a down payment to buy their home in three years. If renters change their mind, they can walk away from the home and get cashed out for their savings; if they want to buy it faster, homeownership can be accelerated. The flexibility of renting with the freedom and wealth building power of homeownership.
