Co-ownership of second homes for rich people who don't want to buy a whole house they'll only use 6 weeks a year. Pacaso buys luxury homes, converts them into LLCs, and sells ownership shares. You get a $3 million Napa Valley house for $600K. Co-founded by Spencer Rascoff, who previously co-founded Zillow. The model is timeshare 2.0 — except they'll hate you for calling it that. Raised $191 million to prove that fractional luxury real estate is a real market.
Founded
2020
HQ
Cincinnati, USA
Total Raised
$191 million
Founder
Austin Allison, Spencer Rascoff
Status
Private
Website
www.pacaso.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
Spencer Rascoff co-founded Zillow and sold it for $10 billion. He knew real estate.
Austin Allison co-founded dotloop (acquired by Zillow) and knew real estate tech. In 2020, they realized second homes were massively underutilized — the average second home sits empty 10-11 months per year.
That's millions of dollars of real estate generating zero value. Pacaso buys luxury second homes (typically $1M-$5M), creates an LLC for each property, and sells 2-8 ownership shares.
Each owner gets scheduled access to the property. Pacaso handles all management.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Pacaso buys homes, creates LLCs, and sells fractional ownership shares. Revenue comes from a markup on the home (Pacaso buys at market price and sells shares at a premium), ongoing property management fees (charged to all owners), and transaction fees when owners resell their shares.
The model requires significant capital to purchase homes upfront.
THE PRODUCTS
Fractional Ownership — buy 1/8 to 1/2 of a luxury second home. SmartStay Scheduling — AI-powered scheduling system so owners don't conflict.
Property Management — Pacaso handles all maintenance, cleaning, and upkeep. Resale Marketplace — sell your share to another buyer.
HOW THEY GREW
Leveraging Rascoff's Zillow network. Having a Zillow co-founder gave Pacaso instant credibility with real estate agents, luxury home buyers, and media.
They also targeted specific second-home markets (Napa, Malibu, Park City, Lake Tahoe) where demand for luxury vacation homes was concentrated.
THE HARD PART
NIMBYism. Neighbors in luxury communities have fought Pacaso fiercely, arguing that fractional ownership turns homes into quasi-commercial properties.
St. Helena (Napa Valley) and Sonoma passed ordinances specifically targeting Pacaso-style arrangements.
The "it's not a timeshare" messaging has been a constant battle. Also, the model requires expensive homes in desirable locations — market downturns could leave Pacaso holding inventory.
MONEY TRAIL
Series A
2020 · Led by Maveron
$17M raised
Series B
2021 · Led by SoftBank
$75M raised
Series C
2021 · Led by SoftBank
$125M raised
$1.5B valuation
WHO BACKED THEM
SoftBank, a16z, Greycroft, Global Founders Capital, and Maveron invested. Spencer Rascoff's track record (Zillow) was the main draw for investors.
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