Airbnb has announced a multi-pillar commitment to help build more housing across the nation, starting with a $6.4 million investment to help finance an affordable housing project in Texas.
According to the firm, the Airbnb Housing Accelerator “combines capital deployment, policy advocacy, and innovation into a coordinated system designed to help remove the barriers that prevent homes from being built and unlock housing supply, and inspire the next generation of breakthroughs in construction technology.”
The short-term rental company is pledging an initial $250 million investment in rental housing developments that are ready to build but have stalled, thereby unlocking $5 billion in capital investments over the next 10 years. Airbnb’s investment will focus on “last-dollar” financing—the modest, incremental capital that makes the difference between a project moving forward or sitting idle.
Airbnb said it will invest at returns significantly below standard market rates, prioritizing affordable and mixed-income housing projects that are stalled.
The inaugural $6.4 million investment will support the development of 201 affordable housing units in Austin, Texas. These units are part of the larger St. John redevelopment project, a public-private partnership that will include more than 500 units of housing, retail, a park, and public art showcasing work by local artists in an historically underserved community.
Developers, nonprofits, and community organizations are encouraged to suggest additional projects for investment at airbnb.com/housingaccelerator.
The company said it will release a first-of-its-kind dataset designed to give journalists, researchers, advocates, and policymakers a window into the state of housing policies and outcomes in different cities.
Airbnb is also launching the $5 Million Airbnb Housing Innovation Prize for five companies or nonprofits developing technologies that make it faster, cheaper, and easier to build a home.