Buying and converting residential properties into shared living spaces is altogether the starting point for K.Group DAO, a Wyoming-licensed DAO. But its underlying philosophy is bridging the gap between income and the cost of housing for America’s low-income families and individuals.
At the time of writing, a total of twelve people are currently occupying a lightly furnished property owned by K.Group DAO LLC in Texas, with each enjoying the comforts of a new home.
This number is projected to reach 600–700 in three months as K.Group DAO prepares to launch a funding round on JuiceBox, the Ethereum fundraising platform where Assange DAO crowdfunded $50 million in February.
As a registered collective, properties acquired by K.Group DAO are held in trust and the power to decide whether to distribute profits accrued from the lease or refinance its construction projects ultimately resides in its autonomous community, comprising of its token holders and core contributors.
With neither profits nor incentives guaranteed, K.Group DAO identifies more as yet another social project than an investment vehicle in web3, with a real-life value and a potential for transforming the traditional real estate landscape in the US and beyond.
AMERICA’S HOUSING CRISIS
The US has been faced with a housing shortage since the 2008 economic downturn and it currently needs 6.2 million homes to address this problem. Today, the gap between the income of the average American and the cost of housing is also widening, with no sign of receding any time soon.
According to the World Economic Forum, around 11 million Americans expend more than half of their incomes on rent as a result of the soaring house prices.
As a consequence, America’s priced-out population, consisting of people without the financial means to buy or rent a property, is now growing at an alarming rate yearly and the plight of half a million homeless Americans is the most disgraceful thing to behold.
K.GROUP DAO HOUSING MODEL
The problems presented by America’s housing crisis come in the form of housing shortage and homelessness. But the key point about it is that the demand for affordable homes across the country is outstripped by their supply.
To end this dangerous trend, it seems viable to ply the route of building new homes in an effort to reduce the cost-burdened population of Americans. However, well-coordinated funding and capital management that the KGroup DAO’s leverage on blockchain technology promises to achieve can yield better results.
As a DAO, it will “expand the use” of capital to construct multi-room housing for each property so that between 8–12 people can share a single capacious property at once. This housing model stands in stark contrast to the traditional housing model in which a residential home is normally occupied by a single family.
GLOBAL HOUSING CRISIS, MYTH OR REALITY?
The reality of a global housing crisis lies in the fact that rents in most countries have grown faster than incomes. It is also backed by World Bank data showing that around 1. 6 billion people will be affected by the global housing shortage by 2025.
According to the UN-Habitat, solving the housing problem on a global scale requires building 96,000 affordable new homes every day for the next few years to cater to the basic housing need of people who are likely to be affected.
In a world where 3 billion people are, according to UN Habitat, projected to face a global housing shortage by 2030, a cost-effective solution such as a DAO can also help to solve the crisis outside of the traditional setting or institution.
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