Why not sell a portion of your home?

Mr. [Alex] Rampell sees further opportunities in new asset classes. One example, he said, might be selling an equity stake in homes. “Why not sell a portion of your home?” he asks.

Ample capital exists around the world, as in the deep coffers of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, with $870 billion in assets, thanks to North Sea oil and a small population. With the right financial vehicle, Mr. Rampell said, such a fund could invest to co-own houses in, say, pricey Palo Alto, Calif., making it easier for prospective home buyers to make down payments and reduce their mortgage burden. “They could own 10 percent or 15 percent of your house, so you don’t have to borrow as much,” Mr. Rampell said. “I think there’s a lot of room for more of those kind of new asset classes.”

Here is the short NYT blog post.