The dream of owning a home has rarely felt this far away. Prices keep climbing, mortgage rates hover near 7%, and a tangle of regulations makes building new homes harder every year. At a recent Mortgage Bankers Association conference, Lennar Mortgage President Laura Escobar described a "vicious cycle" in which affordability has become a real barrier for millions of Americans. For a lot of people, owning a home in a neighborhood they actually want to live in feels like it is slipping out of reach. We built reSpace to change that.
Escobar pointed to three forces squeezing buyers: limited inventory, regulatory restrictions, and rising construction and labor costs. With the country short roughly 1.5 million homes, demand outpaces supply and prices climb, which pushes first-time buyers out of the market entirely. Restrictive zoning makes it worse. About 75% of residential land is reserved for single-family homes, which limits the more attainable, multi-household options buyers actually need.
Co-Homeownership as the Path Forward
This is where reSpace comes in. By pioneering hyper-attainable co-homeownership, we help people who have been priced out turn renting into owning. Instead of paying down someone else's mortgage every month, you own a real stake in a home of your own. For anyone who wants to live in a sought-after part of Seattle but cannot swing a traditional mortgage solo, our model offers a genuine path to ownership.
Here is how it works: each co-homeowner owns their own private suite inside the home, complete with a wet bar and private bath, and shares the common areas like the kitchen and living spaces. You get the privacy of your own space and the warmth of a shared one.
Adding Density While Honoring Neighborhood Character
As Escobar emphasized, growing the housing supply is essential to easing the affordability crunch. With new construction so hard to pencil out, we take a different route. We find homes in established, in-demand neighborhoods and thoughtfully reimagine them for co-homeownership.
This adds density without changing the look and feel of the block. New co-homeowners settle into neighborhoods like Leschi, Madrona, and Beacon Hill while those areas open up to a wider range of people. Through careful renovation and redesign, we preserve the charm and character of the streets people already love, and we do it without altering the fabric of the neighborhood.
By reimagining homes that already exist, we sidestep many of the headaches tied to new construction: zoning fights, permitting delays, and material and labor costs that have jumped more than 30% since the start of the pandemic.
reSpace and the Policy Challenge
Escobar's call for regulatory reform lines up with what we believe. Current regulations add an average of $94,000 to the price of a new home, a cost that lands hardest on the people trying to break in. While she pushes policymakers to make affordability a priority, we are focused on practical solutions people can use right now, because most buyers cannot afford to wait years for legislation to catch up.
Opening the Door to Ownership
reSpace exists to help people own a home in the places they love. Rather than waiting on policy change or a flood of new inventory, we offer a real alternative that is available today. With co-homeownership, more people get to feel the pride and stability of owning, and the door to homeownership in Seattle opens to many who thought it had closed for good.
We are more than a co-homeownership platform. We are here to build a new model of attainability and stability in one of the toughest housing markets in the country.
Source: Swaminathan, A. (2024). U.S. housing market is on the verge of a vicious cycle, which is "not good for America," Lennar Mortgage head warns. MarketWatch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is co-homeownership with reSpace?
Co-homeownership is a structured way for several people to own one home together. With reSpace, each co-homeowner owns their own private suite, which includes a private bath and a wet bar, and shares the common spaces like the kitchen and living room. It lets you own a real stake in a home in a Seattle neighborhood you love without carrying a full mortgage by yourself.
How is this different from renting?
When you rent, your monthly payment goes toward your landlord's property and you walk away with nothing. With reSpace co-homeownership, you own a stake in the home, so your monthly contribution builds toward something that is genuinely yours. You gain the stability and pride of ownership, plus a private suite to call your own, in a neighborhood that might otherwise be out of reach.
Which Seattle neighborhoods does reSpace operate in?
reSpace focuses on established, sought-after Seattle neighborhoods such as Leschi, Madrona, and Beacon Hill. Rather than building from scratch, we find existing homes in these areas and thoughtfully reimagine them for co-homeownership. This approach keeps the character of each block intact while opening these neighborhoods to a wider range of people who want to live there.
Does adding co-homeowners change the neighborhood's character?
No. We reimagine homes that already exist rather than tearing anything down or building tall new structures. The exterior and streetscape stay true to the neighborhood, so the block keeps its look and feel. Co-homeownership adds gentle density and welcomes new neighbors without disrupting the fabric of the community people already love.
Why is co-homeownership more attainable than buying alone?
Buying solo in a desirable Seattle neighborhood often means a price tag that is simply out of reach, especially with rates near 7% and prices climbing. Co-homeownership lowers the cost of entry by letting several people own one home together. You share the home's overall cost while keeping a private suite of your own, which makes ownership achievable today instead of years from now.
Can I get started without waiting for policy or market changes?
Yes. While regulatory reform and new housing supply could help over time, those changes move slowly. reSpace offers a path to ownership you can act on right now. We reimagine existing homes in real Seattle neighborhoods, so there is no waiting on new construction or zoning battles. If ownership has felt out of reach, this is a practical way to step into it today.