SpaceX Employees Could Buy 2 in 5 San Antonio Homes With Their IPO Windfall

• Redfin reports the massive IPO would create enough wealth for SpaceX employees to buy roughly 40% of all the homes in San Antonio, one of the closest major metros to where the company is headquartered. Or they could buy every single home in McAllen, located just 80 miles away from SpaceX headquarters. 
• Alternatively, they could buy 5% of all homes in the Los Angeles metro, where the company was founded.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the wealth created through SpaceX’s massive IPO, current and former employees could hypothetically pool their money to buy an estimated 40% of all homes in San Antonio, according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket. San Antonio is the closest major U.S. metro area to the company’s Starbase, TX headquarters. That’s not just homes for sale—that’s half of all homes in the entire metro area.

A few other hypothetical options: Those employees could buy an estimated 15% of all homes in Houston, another Texas metro and one of the largest housing markets in the country. Or they could buy every single home in McAllen, TX—much smaller than San Antonio or Houston but closer to Starbase, only 80 miles away—and have about $74 billion left over.

Alternatively, current and former employees could hypothetically buy nearly one in 20 (5%) of all homes in the Los Angeles metro area, where SpaceX was based until it relocated to Texas in 2024.

Based on SpaceX’s S1 filing, the company’s IPO could be the biggest in history. SpaceX plans to sell 555,555,555 shares of common stock at $135 per share, raising close to $75 billion and bringing the value of the company to $1.77 trillion. Redfin estimates that current and former employees own roughly 10%-15% of total shares in the company, bringing their total equity to somewhere between $150 and $250 billion. This report is using the midpoint of $200 billion. Applying broad tax assumptions, current and former employees will gain a total of about $120 billion, post-tax, which is the figure used here to estimate how much real estate employees could purchase.

The total value of all homes in San Antonio was roughly $297 billion as of 2024, according to a Redfin report. The total value of all homes in Houston was $801 billion, and the total value of all homes in McAllen was $46 billion. Using the assumption that SpaceX employees will earn $120 billion total through the IPO, their equity could buy 40% of all real estate in San Antonio or 15% in Houston. Their equity could buy all the real estate in McAllen, and then some.

The total value of all homes in Los Angeles was nearly $2.2 trillion in 2024—second only to New York City. SpaceX employees could pool their money and buy a sizable chunk—5%—of L.A.’s real estate.

Big-Time IPOs Meaningfully Impact Local Housing Markets

“While these calculations are purely hypothetical and aren’t meant to suggest a realistic use of IPO proceeds, they illustrate the staggering scale of wealth being created by the SpaceX public offering,” said Redfin Head of Economics Research Chen Zhao. “Some employees will spend their windfalls on housing, and some will spend it on other things—but large liquidity events like this do have meaningful effects on local real estate markets. As employees cash out stocks and gain purchasing power, some will choose to buy a house for the first time, while others will upgrade their existing homes or buy vacation or investment properties. That increases demand in communities where these companies are based and often drives up prices.”

In San Francisco, home prices are growing at their fastest pace in nearly a decade as the AI boom drives a surge in demand. The Bay Area’s hot housing market is driven largely by signing bonuses and big salaries from AI companies, and when big AI businesses go public, it could have an even bigger impact on housing. Anthropic and OpenAI, both based in San Francisco, each filed confidentially for IPOs in early June. Both will reportedly be valued close to $1 trillion when they go public.

To view the full report, including a more detailed methodology, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/spacex-ipo-housing-wealth/

About Redfin

Redfin is a technology-driven real estate company with the country's most-visited real estate brokerage website. As part of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), Redfin is creating an integrated homeownership platform from search to close to make the dream of homeownership more affordable and accessible for everyone. Redfin’s clients can see homes first with on-demand tours, easily apply for a home loan with Rocket Mortgage, and save thousands in fees while working with a top local agent.

You can find more information about Redfin and get the latest housing market data and research at https://www.redfin.com/news. For more information about Rocket Companies, visit https://www.rocketcompanies.com.