The Future of Real Estate Crowdfunding: Predictions for 2026 and Beyond
Real estate crowdfunding has quickly become one of the most popular ways to invest in real estate! Even as the real estate market has slowed from the buyer frenzy of the early 2020s, investors are finding impressive return potential in crowdfunded projects today.
With comparatively low investment minimums, easy online access, and no prior experience required, crowdfunding is an option for a wide range of investors. Whether you’re new to real estate investing or you’re a seasoned high-net-worth investor, crowdfunding has a place in your portfolio.
In this article, we’re going to explore where real estate crowdfunding is headed in 2026 and beyond, and share predictions from industry experts to help you get ahead of the curve!
But first, a quick primer on crowdfunding and why it’s such a valuable asset class.
What Is Real Estate Crowdfunding?
Real estate crowdfunding is when multiple investors pool their funds to finance a specific real estate project (like a single-family house flip or a multi-family development). The project is professionally managed by a real estate sponsor, who scouts potential deals, acquires the property on behalf of the owners, supervises the renovation or construction, manages the ongoing rental or resale of the completed property, and disburses any proceeds back to the investors.
Real estate crowdfunding has existed for hundreds of years, but deals were traditionally arranged as private equity partnerships among a small group of connected investors. It wasn’t until the JOBS Act of 2012 that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allowed real estate investment companies to offer shares in crowdfunded deals to the general public. Thanks to this change, you don’t have to be personally connected with sponsors and other investors to join a crowdfunded project. Anyone who meets the SEC’s criteria as an accredited investor can take advantage of crowdfunding today!
Key Benefits of Real Estate Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding has taken off since it became accessible to the general public in 2012 because it offers the benefits of real estate investing while mitigating the risks.
Consider these benefits of crowdfunding:
- Lower barriers to entry. Instead of shouldering the full financial burden yourself, you split the capital requirements across multiple investors. This makes real estate investing much more accessible. Depending on the deal, you could potentially buy into a multi-million dollar project with as little as $25K.
- Access to larger, more complex projects. Complicated high-value projects (like multi-family development, for example) are difficult for individual investors because of the high cost, specialized knowledge, time, and industry connections required. But with crowdfunding, you get to leverage the sponsor's experience and resources!
- Opportunity for diversification. Not only does real estate crowdfunding make it easy to diversify a securities-heavy portfolio, but with low investment minimums, you can allocate your capital across multiple crowdfunded projects for even greater diversification.
- Flexible options to align with your personal goals. Since crowdfunding covers multiple property types and strategies, you get to hand-select the pre-vetted deals that work best for you. For example, a fix-and-flip by build-to-sell could offer fairly quick returns, while rentals create recurring cash flow and long-term appreciation.
- Attractive return potential. Experienced sponsors often have systems in place to reduce costs while keeping quality high and finding ways to add value to a project. Smart deals can outperform the market.
- Passivity. Because the sponsor manages sourcing, financing, operations, and eventual exit, you get a truly passive way to invest in real estate. There’s zero time, energy, prior experience, or specialized skill required from you as an investor!
- Easy online investing. Placing an investment is as easy as 1) reviewing the available deals, 2) choosing the project(s) you like best, and 3) wiring the funds to your sponsor. From there, you can kick back and track the projects’ progress through an online dashboard.
The Future of Real Estate Crowdfunding in 2026 and Beyond
So what’s in store for real estate crowdfunding as we enter the second half of the 2020s? Here are our expert predictions:
Prediction #1: Companies Focusing on Highly-Specialized Niches
As interest rates remain higher than we’re used to, the cost of borrowing has cut into profit margins. So real estate investment companies must be more selective about the types of deals and projects they’re offering to investors.
Take Gatsby Investment, for example. In the early 2020s, there was good money to be made on a range of projects, including house flips, luxury home construction, and multi-family rentals. However, with the shifting market, Gatsby has narrowed its focus on the investment model that performs best under current conditions: small multi-family built-to-rent (BTR). These structures are built from the ground up for immediate equity, then leased up to provide passive income while taking advantage of longer-term appreciation. Then, when the property is eventually sold, investors benefit from lower capital gains rates thanks to the rental holding period. With a focus on the Los Angeles market, Gatsby has the systems and local contractors in place to maximize return potential while minimizing risk for this unique niche.
Prediction #2: Exponential Growth as the Model Expands
At the end of 2023, the global real estate crowdfunding market was valued at $12.5 billion. By the end of 2025, that figure was up to $48.81 billion! With a projected growth of 46.19% for the forecast period (as determined by the Custom Market Insights research firm), the sector could hit $2.18 trillion by 2034.
This growth is largely due to the key benefits of crowdfunding for investors outlined above. As more investors learn of this opportunity, they’re more inclined to invest in real estate via crowdfunding because of the ease, scalability, and profitability potential of this model.
Interestingly, we’re even seeing investors opt for real estate crowdfunding investments rather than homeownership in some cases. Take Gen Z, for example. Homeownership is financially out of reach for many would-be buyers in this generation. But they still recognize the value of real estate as an investment, so they join in crowdfunding to leverage real estate, even when they can’t afford to buy a home for themselves. Similarly, some retirees are investing in crowdfunded real estate deals while opting for the convenience of renting rather than owning their primary residence.
The low investment minimums and professional management make real estate investing possible even for renters!
Prediction #3: Greater Interest in Equity-Based Syndication (Especially Deal-by-Deals)
Real estate syndication is a special arrangement within the general crowdfunding ecosystem. With syndication, you become a limited partner of the entity that owns the real estate project. This gives syndication a more stable legal ownership structure than general crowdfunding. Plus, as a member of the ownership entity, you have an ownership stake in the underlying real estate and are entitled to your share of the property’s equity (unlike debt-based crowdfunding, in which you simply serve as a lender for a lower set rate of return).
Furthermore, syndication opportunities are more likely to be offered in a deal-by-deal format, in which you can choose the specific project(s) you wish to invest in (rather than whole fund investing, which requires you to invest in a general fund that might buy or sell properties without your knowledge or consent). Deal-by-deal gives you more control over your portfolio.
There are a few other minor differences that you can read about in our article on real estate syndication vs. crowdfunding.
How to Start Investing in Real Estate Crowdfunding
Investing in real estate crowdfunding is a surprisingly quick and easy process.
Simply:
- Compare top real estate crowdfunding platforms to find one that suits your needs and goals.
- Create an online account with that platform via their website (you can sign up with Gatsby here).
- If you’re looking to invest in a syndicated deal, you will likely need to be verified as an accredited investor. This verification is required by the SEC for certain investment types and can be completed online.
- Choose from the platform’s available opportunities. You can view Gatsby’s real estate investment projects even without signing up (although you need to sign up for a free account to view the specific details and financials for each project).
- Wire your funds to activate your investment.
From there, most platforms allow you to monitor the progress of your investments through a convenient online dashboard.
The future of real estate crowdfunding is extremely bright. Don’t miss the opportunity to get in on the ground floor by investing today!