Flow — WeWork founder Adam Neumann’s brand-new company that aims to transform the living experience — designs in some of America’s most competitive real estate markets.
Important reasons: In its early days, Flow has already acquired thousands of residential units in Atlanta, Nashville and Miami. Residents in these cities are already struggling to find affordable places to rent or own.The markets in these areas have been disrupted by corporate investment.
- Flow announced Monday that it has secured a $350 million investment from prominent Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz.
- The New York Times reported that “Flo’s investment themes appear to reflect economic and social trends where more people are renting than buying homes when housing is scarce.” rice field.
What to Expect: Details about the venture’s exact business plan are still lacking, but Andreessen Horowitz said in a blog post that Flow aims to “[connect] By transforming physical spaces and building communities, people are in their homes.”
- Earlier this year, Tim Peterson of Florida-based Altman Cos. was hired to manage some of Neumann’s new Miami facilities, telling Bisnow that the vision is to create a sense of community. Proposed.
- He said it could be nurtured through programming such as fitness events, speaker series and volunteer events.
Big picture: In the first three cities of Flow, the housing market is changing as companies gobble up single-family homes and convert them to rentals, raising both house prices and rents in the process.
- All three cities were among the 10 largest U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest share of homes purchased by corporate investors in the first quarter of 2022, according to Redfin’s analysis.
Zoom in: Look at Nashville. A company associated with Neumann recently purchased Main’s 268-unit Stacks for $79 million.
- The percentage of Nashville homes purchased by businesses increased from 17.3% in the first quarter of 2021 to 24.6% in the first quarter of this year, boosting purchase prices in a very hot market.
- To meet rental demand, Nashville is expected to see a 7% increase in apartment inventory from 2021 to 2022, the largest increase in the country. In a city where the average downtown apartment is pushing $2,000, renting remains cheaper than buying.
- Stacks on Main — in East Nashville, which is slightly less expensive — has a saltwater pool, dog park, and valet pick-up. According to the complex’s website, the most affordable one-bedroom unit is currently at $1,475 per month.
To the point: From what we know so far, little distinguishes Flow from other real estate developers. And those companies aren’t trying to change the world with their business models.
Deirdra Funcheon, Nate Rau, Adam Tamburin, and Thomas Wheatley of Axios contributed to this report.
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