Airbnb Housing Accelerator

Airbnb Housing Accelerator

Investment, innovation, and advocacy for more housing
A photo of children playing  as neighbors gather on the cobblestone street in a quiet neighborhood.
The Airbnb Housing Accelerator is a comprehensive effort to address the global housing shortage. We’re investing $250 million in promising housing projects, while supporting local advocates and policies—because the scale of this problem demands action.

30M+

Estimated housing shortfall across the US, Europe, India, and Brazil combined.1

750K

Number of approved-to-build multi-family homes in the US that need final funding.2

5X

The average US home cost compared to median family income as of 2024.3

Our approach

Create more housing

We provide “last-dollar” financing for multi-family housing projects that are construction-ready, but need final funding.

Reform policy

We support housing advocates tackling issues like outdated zoning, permitting delays, and complex processes.

Encourage innovation

We’re championing new ideas and approaches to help address the world’s biggest housing challenges.

Frequently asked questions

What is this?
What is the Airbnb Housing Accelerator? The Airbnb Housing Accelerator is a project designed to help communities build more housing by investing in construction, supporting policy reforms, and partnering with local advocates working to make building new housing easier.How much is Airbnb investing in housing, and where is the money going? Airbnb will make an initial investment of $250 million to help develop thousands of new housing units, focusing on projects that are approved and nearly fully funded but need “last-dollar” financing to move forward. As these investments close, we’ll reinvest the proceeds into more housing projects.What is “last-dollar” financing? Last-dollar financing helps housing projects that are almost fully funded, and makes sure that more homes actually get built.Right now, an estimated 750,000 multifamily homes across the US are ready to build, but are stuck just steps shy of breaking ground.
  1. CBRE Research. European Real Estate Market Outlook 2025, Chapter 3: Living. CBRE, 2025. Data reflects: 2024 estimate. Geographic scope: Europe (aggregated across European countries; specific country coverage not itemized). Retrieved May 2026. Knight Frank India and National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO). India Affordable Housing: Tackling Urban Housing Deficits Through Supply-Side Reforms. Knight Frank India, 2025. Data reflects: cumulative government program data through August 2025, derived from the Technical Group on Urban Housing 2012–17 baseline. Geographic scope: Urban India only. Retrieved May 2026. Fundação João Pinheiro (FJP) and Secretaria Nacional de Habitação, Ministério das Cidades (Brazil). “Brasil registra déficit habitacional de 6 milhões de domicílios.” FJP, April 24, 2024. Data reflects: 2022 (based on IBGE Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios Contínua / PnadC and CadÚnico). Geographic scope: Brazil, national. Retrieved May 2026.
  2. Williams, Paul. Raising the Housing Investment Level: The History and Future of Multifamily Investment Policy. Center for Public Enterprise, 2026. Geographic scope: United States, national. Disclosure: This research was commissioned and funded by Airbnb, Inc. The findings, analysis, and conclusions are those of Paul E. Williams and do not necessarily reflect the views of Airbnb.
  3. Whitney, Peyton. “Home Prices Surge to Five Times Median Income, Nearing Historic Highs.” Blog post, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, 2025. Data reflects: 2024. Geographic scope: 100 largest U.S. metro areas by population.