🏠 HomeVestors DAO: Real Estate Tokenization with Real Governance

Developers Showcase
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Property is the world’s largest source of wealth — over $300 trillion globally. For decades, owning rental property was one of the most reliable ways for individuals to build financial security.

But today, many are being left behind. The percentage of homeowners in younger generations is falling, giving rise to the label “Generation Rent.” At the same time, the buy-to-let market — once dominated by small landlords — is changing fast:

:chart_decreasing: Small landlords are leaving under the weight of rising costs, regulation, and day-to-day stress.
:office_building: Institutions and REITs are stepping in, consolidating control over more of the rental market.
:warning: The result: fewer ordinary investors can access property wealth, and renters face a market where decisions made by a small group of institutional owners shape the living conditions of millions.

We’ve felt this firsthand as small landlords in the UK — dealing with compliance deadlines, repair calls, tenant arrears, and endless admin. The stress is real. That’s why we’re building HomeVestors DAO: to make property investment accessible without the burdens that drive so many out of the market.

Real Governance, Not Just Access

Real estate tokenization has begun to address one part of this problem — by fractionalizing properties into tokens so more people can invest. But most projects stop at access. Investors get exposure, while the platform or fund keeps all the decision-making power.

That’s where HomeVestors DAO comes in.

:ballot_box_with_ballot: Every Property as a DAO

HomeVestors DAO combines fractionalized access with binding on-chain governance.
Each property is structured as its own DAO, with 1,000 ICRC-7/37 NFTs enabling investors to participate in decision-making.

DAO control extends to the entire property state. Investors can create proposals, vote, and see outcomes executed automatically on-chain.

Examples of what DAO governance covers:
Invoices — all income, expenses, and distributions.
Financials — rental income and property-related data.
Operations — tenants, inspections, maintenance, renovations.
Administration — insurance, documents, and notes.

Nothing happens without DAO approval. Every decision is verifiable and transparent on-chain.

:movie_camera: Watch it in action

:bar_chart: What We’ve Built

Through the DFINITY Developer Grant, we’ve delivered a comprehensive property DAO platform — deployed to mainnet canisters and currently running with demo data:

:coin: NFT Canisters

  • One dedicated NFT canister per property.

  • ICRC-7/37 compliant, with 1,000 NFTs per property.

  • Full support for transfers, approvals, metadata, and transaction history.

:building_construction: Property Management Canister (Backend)

The core engine that manages all property-related state and logic.
Modules include:

  • Administrative data → documents, insurance, notes.

  • Operational data → tenants, inspections, maintenance, renovations.

  • Financials → rents, expenses, valuations (via certified HTTP outcalls).

  • Governance → proposals, voting, execution.

  • Invoices → draft, approval, recurring, DAO-controlled execution.

  • Notifications → alert investors of new proposals, invoices, and property changes.

  • Marketplace → listings, fixed-price sales, and auctions for property NFTs, integrated with ckUSDC.

:laptop: Frontend Canister

  • Lightweight HTML/JS/CSS frontend for accessibility and speed.

  • Key pages: Marketplace, Property Info, Investor Dashboard, Proposals, Balances, Property Launch.

  • Integrated with Internet Identity and KYC for secure onboarding.

  • Designed for clarity and ease of use, so governance and property management feel seamless.

This architecture makes HomeVestors DAO one of the most advanced RWA platforms on ICP: not just fractionalizing property, but embedding governance, valuations, compliance, rental flows, and marketplace logic into a fully on-chain system.

:globe_with_meridians: Why ICP?

ICP is the only blockchain that makes this model possible:

:white_check_mark: On-chain execution — proposals directly trigger canister actions, with no off-chain intermediaries.
:white_check_mark: Native timers — handle proposal deadlines, rental dispersals, and invoice due dates. On other chains this requires external bots or keepers, but on ICP it’s built in.
:white_check_mark: Certified HTTP outcalls — enable secure integration of real-world property data (e.g., documents, financial updates, property records) without relying on centralized oracles.
:white_check_mark: Gasless UX — seamless participation without constant wallet popups.

Where other chains deliver governance theater, ICP enables real DAOs that operate autonomously over time.

:rocket: What’s Next

Our immediate focus is to evolve HomeVestors DAO from a technical proof into a platform with a strong financial backbone. We’re working to ensure the system is economically sustainable and liquid before onboarding real properties. This means continuing to refine the DAO’s governance and financial modules, strengthening integrations, and building trust with the community.

By the time the first properties launch, the platform will already be robust, transparent, and investable — giving both investors and tenants confidence in a model built to last.

:speech_balloon: Join the Discussion

We’d love to hear feedback from the ICP community on how HomeVestors DAO can best showcase real-world assets on chain.
Which governance features excite you most?
What integrations would make this a flagship use case for ICP?

Watch the demo video: Youtube
Explore the Code: Check out our Github
Share your thoughts here on the forum — your input will help shape the next stage.

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