What is CrowdStreet?
CrowdStreet is a leading online real estate investing platform. To date, we’ve launched more than 470 deals, including both individual assets and funds. Some of the world’s largest sponsors, including Greystar and Harbor Group International, have used CrowdStreet to raise capital. Since 2014, our investor community has committed more than $1.65 billion in investments and earned nearly $200 million in distributions.
Real estate is a valuable part of any well-diversified investment strategy and commercial real estate (CRE) offers unique value to investors. Through our Marketplace, investors have access to institutional-quality real estate investment opportunities across every asset class and risk profile, allowing them to choose the right investment opportunity for them and their portfolio. Whether you’re a seasoned real estate expert or completely new to real estate investing, we make it easy to find the approach that’s right for you.
CrowdStreet features you should know:
In-depth research: Each individual investment offering on CrowdStreet’s website includes a detailed video webinar about the project, which is a useful way for investors to learn more about the specific details of the development and to ensure that the investment belongs in their portfolio. You can listen live to each webinar and submit questions to the project sponsor, or watch the recorded video later.
CrowdStreet is committed to bringing high quality deals to investors. For instance, with the onset of COVID-19, CrowdStreet placed additional scrutiny on deals during the review process. Every eligible deal in the pandemic era must have a compelling answer to the question, “Why this deal right now?”
The new Investment Thesis feature gives investors insight into how potential deals are being evaluated. And its new video series, called “StreetBeats,” provides an insider perspective on the commercial real estate market and helps investors understand what’s happening and changing week to week.
Investing guidance: Each project page also offers a resources section, with instructional videos and articles about general investing topics, such as “How to review an investment offering” and “Understanding internal rate of return,” as well as a link to CrowdStreet’s “Quick Start Guide,” for help getting started.
Accredited investors only: Currently, all of CrowdStreet’s investments are available solely to accredited investors. These investors have a net worth, excluding the value of their primary residence, of at least $1 million, or annual income in each of the past two years of at least $200,000 if single or $300,000 if married. If you’re not an accredited investor, check out our reviews of Fundrise, which offers real estate investments to nonaccredited investors, as well as DiversyFund.
Complex investments:
Each CrowdStreet project is different, and each requires your own due diligence, over and above CrowdStreet’s vetting process, to make sure the project fits in your overall portfolio.
These real estate investments are illiquid, so be prepared to leave your money invested for a few years (see each project page for details on its target investment period).
Some projects may start paying a return immediately, while others may take years.
Some projects may fail to fund, and your money will be returned to you.
As with any investment, you may lose money. CrowdStreet posts results for deals that have now closed, so you can see past performance results. But remember that past results don’t predict future performance.
Is CrowdStreet right for you?
There’s no doubt that adding real estate to your portfolio can be a smart move — real estate is a useful way to diversify your overall investment portfolio. The easiest way to do that is with a publicly traded real estate investment trust, or REIT, which you can trade like a stock, or a REIT mutual fund. REITs are available to all investors and have lower minimums than CrowdStreet’s projects.
Crowdstreet risks: Is CrowdStreet safe to invest with?
All of that data contributes to our Investments team’s review of new deals for the CrowdStreet Marketplace.
In early 2020, they officially crossed the $1 billion milestone for total online investments by individual investors. Crossing this threshold for equity invested is a significant milestone for CrowdStreet and the commercial real estate industry overall. As real estate sponsors continue to move their fundraising operations and investment management activities online, and as more investors expect more online investing options, supply and demand feed off each other. As sponsors allocate more investment opportunities to CrowdStreet, and more investors select to participate in the deals, even more sponsors see the value in bringing their deals to the Marketplace. It’s a virtuous cycle that results in CrowdStreet having one of the largest and most diverse online marketplaces for developers and operators to raise capital and individual investors to diversify their investment portfolios.
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