Early in the pandemic, when financing was still cheap, the investment platform Fundrise was prioritizing growth.
From 2020 into 2021, the firm, which offers retail investors a partial stake in its real estate funds for as little as $10, dropped $32 million on a rental development in Texas, then just shy of half a billion to build a fleet of single-family homes in the Sun Belt.
But early last year as rates rose and real estate investment trusts — Fundrise’s primarily investment vehicle — struggled, CEO Ben Miller switched gears.
“Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, we sold all our public REITs and we basically got out of equities,” Miller said. A few months later, the firm pulled back on its acquisitions too.
“And then we went into the semi-public debt markets,” Miller said.
In the time since, Fundrise has focused heavily on the credit side of commercial real estate, with a dedicated fund for its investors and a lending arm that primarily extends mezzanine debt for multifamily buildings.
On a new episode of TRD’s podcast “Deconstruct,” Miller explains why he believes the opportunity in credit investment has room to run and shares the asset classes he’s eyeing once equity markets recover.
Catch the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible or wherever you get your podcast fix.
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