PadSplit, a shared housing marketplace in the country specifically designed for the workforce, announced tripling year-over-year growth in available units, according to a press release.
Founded in 2017, PadSplit is a Public Benefit Corporation with a “mission of opening doors to new opportunities, one room at a time.” Designed specifically for the workforce, its residents have a medium income of $22,000 per year and mostly include teachers, daycare workers, security guards, restaurant workers and grocery staff.
The company says its platform, and the co-living model overall, can increase the housing supply while decreasing access barriers for individuals seeking quality housing at affordable rates.
It accomplishes this tall task by offering co-living arrangements without long-term commitments, credit scores or security deposits. While the platform allows workers to find affordable housing, PadSplit says the model also doubles net operating income for property owners.
The platform proved its use in 2021, according to the release, enabling:
- Over 6,000 users to obtain housing through rooms, at 40% to 50% the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in respective markets.
- 88% of residents to improve their credit scores, more than 700 establishing a credit score for the first time.
- Residents to save $420 more per month on average as a result of savings on rent, utilities and transportation.
The company also says it has enabled hundreds of residents to receive rapid, interest-free loans through a partnership with automated credit building company Esusu (when federal assistance could not be accessed).
“In the last year, the country’s housing crisis has become more unsustainable, especially for community workers,” PadSplit founder and CEO Atticus LeBlanc stated in the release.
“We need more creative solutions to address the dearth of housing supply and the growing barriers to access caused by zoning, NIMBYism, and decades of systemic racism that have plagued housing policies virtually everywhere in the country. At PadSplit, we have a strong bias towards action and are proud to be a part of the solution to create more housing for the people who need it most,” LeBlanc said.
The platform also has a number of attributes which makes it beneficial for the workforce. Aside from the obvious (a cheaper place to live), the platform’s backend tech also enables each resident to customize their payment schedule so it can align with the timing of their work pay periods.
In addition PadSplits are focused near job centers and public transportation, and because the platform doesn’t require long-term commitments or deposits, it allows workers to easily relocate for new jobs.
While the platform tripled its available units in 2021, the company also has experienced substantial growth during that time – since the start of 2021, it more than doubled its employee base from 50 to 120, completed a $20.5 million Series B and has been named PropTech Breakthrough’s Affordable Housing Solution of the Year.
Based in Atlanta, the company has also used that impressive growth to expand its shared housing platform into seven new markets. These include Houston, Richmond, Tampa, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Dallas and Jacksonville.
In other recent fintech news, Unreserved raised a $33.85 million seed round to expand its auction platform into real estate. Location analytics company Placer.ai also raised $100 million and earned unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation.