<\/p>\n
\nHomeShare has worked with the Financial Market Authority to finetune its offering.
\nPhoto: Supplied\/Susan Edmunds\n<\/p>\n
If you want to get into the property market, but don’t have the money to do so, you may be about to get your chance – again.<\/p>\n
New fintech start-up HomeShare plans to launch later this year, offering investors the opportunity to buy a share in residential property.<\/p>\n
If that sounds familiar, that’s because it’s not the first attempt to offer this sort of investment scheme – The Property Crowd and The Ownery have both tried it within the past decade.<\/p>\n
In 2022, the Financial Markets Authority suspended the crowdfunding licence of The Property Crowd, after it contravened licensee obligations. No investors were using the platform at that point.<\/p>\n
The Ownery launched in 2016, offering shares in an Ellerslie house, but there was reportedly underwhelming investor interest and less than a quarter of shares were sold. It has not responded to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Homeshare founder Martin van Blerk said the key difference between those previous attempts and his latest was that he had worked with the Financial Markets Authority in its fintech sandbox.<\/p>\n
The ‘sandbox’ is designed to encourage innovation, and allow participants to test their new products and services in a controlled environment, getting a better understanding of what the regulator will expect of them and adjusting as required.<\/p>\n
Van Blerk said HomeShare would offer 10,000 shares in a property based on an independent valuation. Its first property would be in Hamilton.<\/p>\n
People could buy single shares or many. On an $800,000 property, a share would be $80.<\/p>\n
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\nMartin van Blerk is aiming for an October launch for HomeShare.
\nPhoto: Supplied\/Susan Edmunds\n<\/p>\n
“The goal is making housing more affordable, more transparent and just easier to access for a lot of people, who’d otherwise be locked out, either because they don’t have enough for a deposit or a mortgage, or they just don’t know how to go about it.”<\/p>\n
He said he aimed for an October launch and hoped to eventually have properties all over New Zealand.<\/p>\n
“Instead of buying one property in Auckland, you could buy shares in 100 throughout New Zealand, so it’s a great way to diversify risk for property owners.”<\/p>\n
Owners would receive a proportionate amount of rental income from the property and pay a proportional amount of the cost of ownership, including maintenance.<\/p>\n
People who wanted to exit their investment could sell their shares on HomeShare’s secondary marketplace, as long as the price was set within what the company said was a reasonable range.<\/p>\n
Fees would be charged when shares were bought and sold. For first-home buyers, the fee is 0.95 percent “or slightly higher if you’re a traditional investor”.<\/p>\n
Van Blerk said the model had proved popular in other countries.<\/p>\n
“New Zealand is sort of lagging behind. I think this is a chance to put us at the front of a shift that’s happening.”<\/p>\n