Bungalow Co-Living Platform Enters Philadelphia Market

PHILADELPHIA—The Bungalow co-living platform has entered its 10^th US market today with the official launch of operations in Philadelphia.

The San Francisco-based company, which signs long-term leases with single-family homeowners and rents units in the residences, has at. launch rooms available for rent in more than 13 residences across Rittenhouse, Center City and Old City neighborhoods. A company spokesperson reports that at three units per home, Bungalow currently has approximately 39 rooms available for rent. The rent per room for the units is between $650 to $920 a month.

Bungalow, which was launched in 2017, currently operates in the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, DC and now Philadelphia. The firm launched operations in Boston last month.

Bungalow CEO and co-founder, Andrew Collins says of the firm’s entrance into Philadelphia, “We’re excited to partner with homeowners across Philadelphia to make this city I love even more welcoming and affordable for young professionals today. Bungalow creates a market between homeowners who own single-family homes, and young people who need a great home. With this model, we’re able to provide property owners the income of a landlord (without any of the headache of managing tenants) and renters a beautiful home and community of friends.”

He adds that because the firm utilizes the city’s existing housing supply, “we’ve been able to scale faster and with far less capital than any developer. We can’t wait to grow our Philly presence.”

The company is projected to grow its service in Philadelphia to approximately 40 homes and 120 rooms for rent by the end of this year. Nationwide, the company hopes to expand to 5,000 units across 10 markets by 2020.

Bungalow signs long-term leases, which typically have two- to three-year terms, with homeowners at market rates and subleases the home to young professionals.

Bungalow is responsible for finding renters to fill the home; as part of this process the company conducts background checks on renters, manages all rental payments, manages all maintenance issues, and facilitates regular cleanings, the company states.

In August of last year, Bungalow reported it had secured $64 million in funding that included $14 million in Series A financing led by Khosla Ventures, Atomic, Founders Fund, Cherubic Ventures, and Wing Ventures, alongside a $50-million debt facility. The firm also announced at that time that veteran Silicon Valley investor and Opendoor founder Keith Rabois has joined the Bungalow Board of Directors.