Real estate is the cornerstone of the ‘American Dream’ (a house, a yard, and a white picket fence) in the US and around the world; however, there has always been structural inequity in the housing market and current market conditions are accelerating this inequity. There is rampant housing inflation, a supply crisis, and heightened levels of institutional participation.
Taken together, buying a home has become much more difficult or even impossible for many first-time buyers. The media drumbeat on this topic is getting louder (for good reason) - just recently 60 Minutes has featured this issue on a recent episode and the Washington Post leveraged Redfin data to demonstrate how increased institutional ownership of single family homes is pushing out individual buyers, impacting minorities disproportionately. Further, a recent survey from the NY Fed showed record-low confidence that renters will ever be able to afford a home, period.
We’re the generation that’s been told we will never be able to own a home and it’s manifesting right in front of us. But, we participate and contribute to society and culture perhaps more than any generation before - should we not have a chance to participate in the American Dream?
Fortunately, we are also the generation that doesn’t take NO for an answer.
Instead of accepting this fate, we’ve created Parcl, on behalf of everyone, so that everyone can participate in real estate (renters, first-time buyers, enthusiasts). We are making real estate investing possible for our generation through the most advanced, bleeding edge technologies to create the democratized future that we want to see. Our mission is to deliver real estate to everyone - and it starts with education and accessibility for our users.
For those new to the Parcl story, here’s a quick TLDR…
Parcl is a blockchain-based platform that allows users to invest in a digital square foot of physical real estate in neighborhoods across the world. The Parcl Price Feed continuously tracks the underlying price movement in any given Parcl (geographical neighborhood) - allowing users to benefit from broad (or highly granular) exposure to the most desirable real estate. Parcl requires No-Minimum Investment, offers Immediate Liquidity, and carries Low Transaction Fees so investors can now trade their favorite neighborhoods just like they trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other crypto assets.
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A Refresher On Where We Are
We recently completed our first Testnet + HOA NFT launch
Our Testnet generated significant interest over the 10 days it was live (3/30-4/9). Here are the highlights:
- 70k+ unique visitors to our Testnet site
- 25k+ Typeform feedback submissions
- 300k+ on-chain transactions
On the back of the Testnet, we launched our Homeowners Association NFT Collection to bring awareness to Parcl and our community, identify our earliest supporters, and reward their initial usage of the protocol. The HOA collection sold out in just 30 minutes via the Magic Eden Launchpad and we are the #4 volume NFT in the entire Solana NFT ecosystem over the week of 4/11.
What to look forward to over the next several weeks
Testnet 2.0 + Mainnet Launch
- Testnet 2.0: Participate in our second Testnet and explore new features, more functionality, and more Parcls to trade.
- US City Expansion: Continuing to expand Parcl’s US analytics capability, expanding our metropolitan area coverage to include cities nationwide.
- Comprehensive Protocol Research Tool: View more information about each neighborhood to make more informed trades. Our data will pull relevant information such as median square footage, price trends, days on market, amenities, and more.
- News & Social: Relevant news and social information from each real estate neighborhood will populate so you can learn more about where you’re investing.
- Parcl Original Real Estate/Geospatial R&D: Publishing timely, relevant real estate stats for public consumption, building on our best in class data infrastructure/capability.
- Mainnet launch: Parcl plans to launch live to the Solana mainnet in late 2Q22!
An Update on HOA Mint Proceeds
Mint proceeds (approximately 3,950 SOL after partner fees) remain locked in a 14 day escrow with Magic Eden. These funds unlock on 4/26, at which time they will be delivered to Parcl. We will update the community on the status and exact amount of these funds once they are released to us. Of course, transfers of mint proceeds will be recorded on-chain.
Charitable Efforts
Our first altruistic act on behalf of the HOA is to double down on our mission to deliver real estate to everyone by donating well over half (approximately 2,500 SOL) of our mint proceeds to support everyday people who are being adversely affected by the current state of the real estate market.
To do this we are partnering with the Suh Family Foundation to identify deserving families & individuals in our community; we are focused on submissions from folks that have been directly impacted by real estate inflation & the trend of institutions participating in the single family home buying market. We + the Suh Family Foundation will help the grand prize winner purchase a new home.
Why Suh? He’s proven himself to be way more than a Super Bowl winning athlete. He consistently uses his platform to advocate for access to wealth creation, specifically for more inclusive ways for people to get involved in real estate. You can check out some of his thoughts on the subject here, here, and here. Partnering with a nationally recognized figure, whose work aligns so well with Parcl’s mission, makes a ton of sense and will ensure our reach goes as far as possible.
Here’s how it will work:
- You (contest candidate) have been trying to purchase a home but, for reasons outside your control, you haven’t been able to
- For example: you had an offer submitted (in-contract / down payment transferred, etc.) on a new home and someone came in and outbid you
- Submissions will be accepted from all over, but the grand prize winner will be someone who is looking to find a home in one of the 10 US metros mentioned in this article:
- Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Jacksonville, Phoenix, Orlando, Detroit, Las Vegas, Tampa, and Nashville
- Parcl, via the Suh Family Foundation, will make the down payment + one year of mortgage & tax payments (aka. annual housing costs) for one grand prize winner, up to $100,000
- Remaining charitable funds (less the funds awarded to the grand prize winner) will be allocated in a separate contest to five rent giveaway finalists from around the U.S. and around the world to help these folks pay for one full year of rent or mortgage payments
- The open submission period for eligible candidates lasts for one month from contest launch (targeting 5/1 official announcement). Submissions will be collected via a unique Parcl hosted landing page
- More specific details to follow
HOA Community Fund
The remaining mint proceeds (approximately 1,450 SOL) plus all previously received and ongoing royalties will remain in Parcl’s HOA ‘Community Fund’. A portion of these funds will be distributed most immediately towards the following initiatives:
- Free merch drops for HOA holders
- Our gated online storefront for NFT holders will go live in May
- Eligible HOA holders will be able to connect to the storefront via the Solana wallet that holds their HOA and order merchandise
- We will have an IRL merch pop-up drop at NFT NYC in late June; HOA holders will be able verify their HOA contract for free merch on site
- NFT gated, complimentary VIP access to the IRL Parcl launch party - stay tuned for more exciting details!
- We have been and will continue to randomly restock our HOA NFT Treasury on an ongoing basis
- HOA Treasury NFTs are reserved for awareness campaigns, community treasure hunts, discord/Twitter contests, and further charitable initiatives
Lastly, as mentioned previously, HOA holders will become eligible for our upcoming International HOA collection
- HOA holders will receive rights to an allow list (free mint) for the International HOA, which will coincide with our introduction of new international Parcl markets (2Q/3Q 2022)
- Unclaimed allow list allocations will return to the public sale pool after a yet to be determined period (no shorter than one week)
This is just the beginning for the HOA. We’re working hard behind the scenes to deliver many more valuable utilities to the HOA community. Please see our blog from last week for previously published details around medium term & longer term initiatives. Stay tuned for several exciting new updates over the coming weeks.
Shared content and posted charts are intended to be used for informational and educational purposes only. Parcl does not offer, and this information shall not be understood or construed as, financial advice or investment recommendations. The information provided is not a substitute for advice from an investment professional. Parcl does not accept liability for any financial loss or damages. For more information please see the terms of use.
