A global homeownership crisis is unfolding in front of our eyes.
It is time to act now.

We are faced with an unprecedented homeownership crisis across Europe. Rising residential real estate prices have made it nearly impossible for young adults to become homeowners. Millennials are forced to rent much longer than previous generations and have been dubbed as ‘Generation Rent‘. Accumulated student loan debt, higher living expenses, falling real incomes, and continuously rising real estate prices, fuelled by low-interest rates, have made it significantly harder to save up for a downpayment. Despite favourable interest rates, consumers do not necessarily benefit due to restrictive lending, causing them to fall even further behind and missing their chance to take the crucial first step on the property ladder.

Buying a home is, for most of us, by far the most significant financial decision of our lifetime. It requires us to have saved up a sufficiently large downpayment which covers at least the transaction costs, have a regular income to pay for the monthly mortgage payments, and additionally requires us to have a positive outlook on the housing market. Preferably, you want to be confident that you are making the right decision when you buy a home. However, life is fluid and uncertain, sometimes even confronted with external shocks, just like COVID-19. It, therefore, becomes even more important to leave no one behind and that everyone receives a fair chance to become a homeowner.

With propifair we want to rectify the biggest challenge of our lifetime, making homeownership accessible and affordable for everyone. We want to offer young adults, in particular young families, a fair, flexible and realistic chance to take the first step on the property ladder. We are creating a middle ground between renting and buying. You should not be forced to wait to take the first step on the property ladder; you should not put yourself in debt if your current financial situation doesn’t allow it.

Instead, you deserve to have a clear path to homeownership. You deserve to decide when it is the right time to buy, without worrying that real estate prices have skyrocketed in the meantime. To turn our vision into reality, we will go live in January.

Let us change homeownership for good. Together.
['Thore Behrens']
['Startup', 'Homeownership', 'Real Estate', 'Technology', 'Millennials']