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Luxury co-ownership company Pacaso, which enables owners to find available shares, schedule their stays and coordinate with local vendors through a proprietary app, looks to burrow further into the consciousness of the residential industry with the help of its newest partner, RE/MAX.
The two firms announced they are working together to promote Pacaso’s unique model to a wider agent audience in the same fashion Pacaso hitched itself to Engel & Volkers.
RE/MAX will place Pacaso on its Approved Supplier program, which formally introduces the co-living leader to agents who operate in markets where it has homes and shares available.
Market conditions dictate that “it is more important than ever to make efficient use of existing homes and put forward smart solutions,” Vice President of industry relations at Pacaso Marnie Blanco stated in the release.
“Pacaso’s innovative co-ownership model creates more inventory, which eases market pressure and also equals more sales for realtors, as one Pacaso [home] is up to eight sales opportunities,” Blanco said.
Under an LLC, Pacaso acquires new and existing luxury homes in unique vacation destinations, such as Aspen, the Florida Keys and Marbella, Spain, and sells off eight shares of the LLC to aspiring second-home owners. Buyers can buy as little as one-eighth to one-half of the property.
A host of ancillary services are included with a Pacaso share, such as interior design, local property management, dedicated maintenance and where applicable, access to local fitness clubs and high-end neighborhood amenities.
Pacaso pays buyer agents up to three percent commissions and offers equity in the form of 500 RSU or restricted stock unit. There is no limit on how many clients a buyer agent can bring to a Pacaso listing, which is also marketed by a local agent.
The company hopes to shake any lingering stigma it may have as an anti-agent model, despite that never being the case. Pacaso emphasizes that it only seeks homes that are well above a market’s median price and centers its marketing on luxury buyers. The concept was birthed when co-founder Austin Allison realized that many vacation communities suffer from prolonged vacancies, basically, unused housing stock.
The RE/MAX program will help more agents understand how Pacaso works, and in turn, share that information with luxury-level buyers and in some cases, luxury sellers whose homes may be of interest to the company.
The term, “co-ownership,” is part of the larger fractional ownership category which is gaining momentum as other companies find their way into the space. Ember is Pacaso’s nearest competitor, while Pairadime promotes and helps formalize unmarried, multi-buyer home purchases within mid-tier markets and well-funded PadSplit helps workforce renters jointly occupy single-family homes.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Pacaso and its innovative co-ownership platform into the RE/MAX Approved Supplier program,” said RE/MAX, LLC President and CEO Nick Bailey in a press release. “This is a great fit for RE/MAX agents, who tend to embrace smart new ideas they can leverage to close sales and benefit their clients.”
Pacaso was recently named a finalist in the Most Innovative Company Category in the annual Inman Innovator Award and the Inman Golden I Award in the category of Best Luxury Standout.
