Real estate crowdfunding poised to take off in SoFla

Richard Swerdlow
Richard Swerdlow

The partnership between New York-based Atlas Real Estate Partners and crowdfunding company Fundrise for a Wynwood mixed-use project could be duplicated throughout South Florida as crowdfunding becomes more prevalent in the real estate industry.

Before crowdfunding, only a fraction of the nine million U.S. investors with a net worth of at least $1 million invested in private opportunities where they did not previously know someone involved in the deal, according to EarlyShares.com CEO Joanna Schwartz. EarlyShares is a Miami crowdfunding vehicle targeting such investors for real estate opportunities. Real estate is considered the fastest-growing segment for crowdfunding.

EarlyShares just formed an exclusive marketing partnership with Richard Swerdlow’s Property.com. Swerdlow’s Miami-based company also operates Condo.com, Houses.com and Location.com.

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“We think we can rapidly scale the crowdfunding platform” on Property.com, Swerdlow told the Miami Herald.

Miami developer and multifamily investor Jay Massirman is testing crowdfunding for an Orlando project. He told the Herald he’s not sure what to expect. Through EarlyShares, Massirman has received interest from between 50 and 75 qualified investors since launching the initiative about a month ago. [Miami Herald]Eric Kalis