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Why Use a Real Estate Investing App?
Investing in real estate doesn’t have to be difficult. You have several easier alternatives if you want to avoid the legwork of conducting extensive property research, finding tenants, and regularly maintaining the asset(s).
Online investment apps offer convenience and increased accessibility for a wider audience of potential investors to diversify their investment portfolios online without needing to set foot on a property. Real estate investing is also an excellent way to generate passive income from rental properties or earn dividends from real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Best Real Estate Investing Apps of 2024
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Compare the Best Real Estate Investing Apps
The best real estate investing apps offer low ongoing fees, multiple investment options, user-friendly interfaces, and easily met minimum investment requirements. Real estate crowdfunding platforms make this possible. You can add residential, commercial, and other real estate investments to your portfolio at low costs.
Here is how to invest in real estate with the top real-estate investment apps as picked by Business Insider’s editors in 2024.
Best Overall Real Estate Investing App
RealtyMogul
RealtyMogul makes real estate investing accessible to everyone and is best for investing in pre-vetted public, non-traded REITs. It’s available to accredited and non-accredited investors. As for your investment options, RealtyMogul lets you purchase stakes in commercial real estate either as REITs or single properties.
Single properties (private placements) are only available to accredited investors, but both accredited and non-accredited investors can purchase the company’s income and growth REITs. REITs provide quarterly or monthly dividend payouts and appreciation.
What to look out for: You’ll need at least $5,000 to invest in REITs, but other investments — such as individual properties — have minimums ranging from $25,000 to $50,000. While RealtyMogul isn’t the cheapest, it’s also not the most expensive.
Best for Non-Accredited Investors
Fundrise
Fundrise is a real estate investing app with a $10 minimum, it offers eREITs, electronic real estate funds, venture capital funds, and Fundrise IPOs. It’s best for hands-off investors looking for low fees as Fundrise’s investments have a minimum term of five years.
You don’t need to be accredited to invest with Fundrise. Anyone can open an account as long as they meet the app’s minimum requirements. All Fundrise portfolios have auto-investing features, dividend reinvesting, and referral discounts.
What to look out for: If you can’t afford to hold your money for at least five years, Fundrise is probably not the best option for you.
Best for Real Estate App for Real Estate and Alternative Investments
Yieldstreet
Yieldstreet offers real estate and other alternative investments to accredited investors with at least $10,000. You can invest in the following alternative asset types with Yieldstreet: real estate, legal finance, marine finance, crypto, commercial and consumer finance, and art finance.
But don’t worry if you aren’t an accredited investor. You can still invest in the Yieldstreet Prism fund, which lets you invest in multiple alternative asset types. Yieldstreet also has more lenient investment terms than some of the other real estate apps in this roundup. You can invest for as short as six months or up to five years.
What to look out for: Yieldstreet is primarily available to accredited investors or individuals with at least $1 million net worth. If you’re a non-accredited investor, you can still invest with Yieldstreet, but you’ll only have access to one fund: Yieldstreet’s Prism fund.
Best Real Estate Investing App for Short-Term Real Estate Investments
Groundfloor
Groundfloor is a wealthtech platform best for short-term real estate debt investments through SEC-qualified Limited Recourse Obligations (LROs) and notes. There’s a $10 minimum to get started. It’s available to both accredited and non-accredited investors.
Investment terms range from 30 days to 18 months. Accredited and nonaccredited investors can use Groundfloor’s self-directed and automatic investing features and a proprietary loan-grading algorithm. Investments have a history of a 10% annual return.
Groundfloor also offers IRAs (traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, and rollover) and a mobile investing called Stairs. The mobile app has a base rate of 4% annual interest.
What to look out for: Although Groundfloor doesn’t charge management fees, it does require a $10 and may charge additional service fees on loans. It also costs $1,250 for closing, plus $495 on loan applications.
Best Real Estate Investing App for Accredited Investors
EquityMultiple
EquityMultiple is best for accredited investors looking to invest in a wide variety of assets and who have at least $5,000 (minimums can also range between $10,000 and $30,000) to invest. You can invest in institutional, commercial real estate, equity, preferred equity, and senior debt.
EquityMultiple offers various investment approaches, such as Fund Investing, Direct Investing, and Savings Alternative Investing. Each approach utilizes different investment strategies, time horizons, and minimum requirements.
The platform’s range of property types includes multifamily, office, industrial, storage, car wash, cannabis facilities, retail, mixed-use, opportunity zones, senior living facilities, student housing, and data centers. You can also open and invest with self-directed IRAs.
What to look out for: EquityMultiple only accepts accredited investors, so this isn’t a good option if your net worth is less than $1 million. In addition, investment minimums are on the high side, so be prepared to invest between $5,000 and $30,000 in real estate.
Runner-up for Accredited Investors
CrowdStreet
CrowdStreet is one of the largest online real estate marketplaces for accredited investors to diversify their portfolios with pre-vetted institutional-level commercial real estate investment opportunities. Investors can generate passive income streams from the platform’s income and growth-focused debt and equity opportunities.
CrowdStreet provides potential investors with in-depth information regarding underlying property’ details, investment strategy (including how the funds will be used), target markets, estimated hold period, fund manager, and investor return structure.
What to look out for: CrowdStreet is only for accredited investors, and you’ll need at least $25,000 to start investing. Investments are highly illiquid.
Best Real Estate Investing App for Passive Real Estate Investing
DiversyFund
DiversyFund is a real estate crowdfunding platform that invests in undervalued multifamily properties in the U.S. with high growth potential. It has a reasonable $500 minimum with investment opportunities for both accredited and non-accredited individuals.
DiversyFund stands out for its Auto Invest feature, which allows users to set recurring trades in the Multifamily Fund for long-term appreciation. The feature is free and is a great tool for novice real estate investors interested in the set-it-and-forget approach.
What to look out for: You cannot withdraw or cash out your investments until DiversyFund sells the invested properties (four to six years). Also, DiversyFund doesn’t pay out dividends. While the platform is well-suited for passive investing, it isn’t ideal for generating passive income.
Best Real Estate Investing App for Single-Family Properties
Roofstock
Roofstock is one of the best apps to buy rental properties. For a $0 ($5,000 for Roofstock One) minimum, you can buy, sell, and manage properties with free financial management software. Moreover, accredited investors can access fractionalized investments in curated portfolios.
Roofstock lets you invest in single-family rental properties. Once you purchase a property, you don’t have to worry about being left out to fend for yourself — Roofstock assigns a property manager to each rental. Properties are usually tenant-occupied, and property managers are there to assist you as you earn monthly rental income.
Although Roofstock doesn’t have an account minimum, you will be charged a $500 or 0.5% contract price (whichever is higher). Depending on the rental, you may also have to pay a down payment on the property and other additional fees.
What to look out for: The downside is that this could be more expensive than investing in a REIT or other real estate fund since you’re purchasing and making down payments on properties. Another thing to note is that while Roofstock is launching a Roofsavvy mobile app for iOS users, it doesn’t currently have any mobile apps available.
Best Real Estate Investing App for Flexible Liquidity
Arrived
Arrived (previously Arrived Homes) is a new real estate investing platform offering straightforward and affordable real estate property shares for accredited and non-accredited investors. Investors can hand-pick individual residential and vacation rental properties or invest in one of Arrived’s pre-built funds for instant diversification.
Dividend payouts and property appreciation can generate steady passive income. Retirement-focused individuals can use Arrived to diversify their retirement portfolios with real estate investments.
The Arrived Single Family Residential Fund and Private Credit Fund offer flexible quarterly liquidity. Moreover, after six months of investing with Arrived, you can request redemption to retrieve some or all of your shares ( a feature not offered by most real estate platforms).
What to look out for: Arrived has relatively high fees compared to other platforms on this list. Also, it’s residential property selection is limited.
Are Real Estate Investing Apps Worth It?
That depends on your particular risk tolerance and savings goals. Real estate investments are extremely illiquid, so you won’t be able to convert your money into cash as easily as you could with a stock or exchange-traded investment. Additionally, most real estate investing apps require you to hold your investments for at least five years to earn higher returns.
Real estate apps are great for investing in real estate without buying and managing properties yourself. The best real estate investing apps often offer automated account management, so you won’t have to worry about reinvesting dividends or calling big shots.
How to Choose the Best Real Estate Investing App
The best real estate investing app for you depends on your investment goals, risk tolerance, time horizon, and how much you’re willing to invest. There are two main ways to invest in real estate online: real estate investment trusts (REITs) and crowdfunding platforms.
REITs are companies that own, operate, and finance real estate ventures. Like mutual funds and ETFs, REITs invest in multiple properties so users can earn a share of the income of multiple assets. The best apps for real estate investing can help diversify your investment portfolios and generate cash flow.
Most online real estate investing platforms allow traders to customize a portfolio based on their preferences. However, not all crowdfunding platforms are universally available, as many require you to be an accredited investor. Still, platforms like Groundfloor and Fundrise also accept nonaccredited investors.
FAQs
The best real estate investment apps offer accessible, low-cost trading of residential, commercial, and other properties. The best real estate investment app for you depends on your preferences and qualifications. Carefully review rates, real-estate investing opportunities, and fees before signing up.
A real estate crowdfunding platform uses the internet and social media platforms to attract small investors. The crowdfunding platform pools each investor’s money into whatever real estate investments it offers. For instance, the app might pool investors’ money into REITs and other properties.
A real estate investment trust (REIT) owns and manages income-generating real estate assets. A REIT offers a simpler and more liquid approach to building wealth than traditional real estate investing, which requires you to own assets for years at a time.
You can start investing in real estate with varying degrees of cash depending on the kind of real estate assets you’re investing in and the platform you’re investing through. In short, yes, $5,000 may be enough to invest in real estate. Remember to do your research on the investments you buy before spending large sums of money.
You can invest $500,000 in real estate by purchasing rental properties, becoming a landlord, investing in REIT and real estate crowdfunding sites, or flipping houses. By investing $500,000 in real estate, you can earn passive income streams with income-generating real estate assets.
Why You Should Trust Us: Our Expert Panel For The Real Estate Investing Apps
Rebecca Zissar/Business insider
We interviewed the following investing experts to see what they had to say about the best real estate investing apps.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of investing in real estate?
Sandra Cho:
“Advantages include:
- It’s tangible. Some people like real estate because they can see, touch, and feel it.
- Rent. You can get a tenant and get income.
- DIY. You can fix it yourself and save money. If you are handy, you can do many things yourself.
- Depreciation. You can depreciate it as an asset.”
“Disadvantages:
- Maintenance. A property can be a money pit, with almost constant things to fix and clean and maintain, including a new roof, paint, floors, plumbing, and electricity. These are all do-able; just make sure you budget about 1% of the cost of the house for maintenance.
- Renter headaches. Renters can have more power than the landlord. They can pay late or not at all, damage the property, and, in general, cause more trouble than they are worth.
- Fees. Property tax, HOA fees if you own a condo, utilities,”
Tessa Campbell:
“Investing in real estate provides a series of advantages such as a long-term appreciation, increased asset control, portfolio diversification, a hedge against market volatility, and access to a passive cash flow. Investors may also be able to benefit from tax advantages like tax-free capital gains and deductions in interest.
“But just like with any investment, there’s no guarantee that your real-estate investments will be successful. This can be a significant disadvantage as investing in real estate is generally more expensive than other, more liquid assets like stocks or bonds. Other downsides of investing in real estate are the long-term commitment, extensive fees, high minimums, and overall illiquidity.”
Who should consider investing in real estate?
Sandra Cho:
“People who already have a diversified traditional investment account and have excess funds they would like to invest in an alternative asset class.”
Tessa Campbell:
“You should consider investing in real estate if you have the funds to meet the high minimums and are looking for long-term alternative investment options to gain passive cash flow, hedge against inflation, and diversify your investment portfolio.”
Is there any advice you’d offer someone investing in real estate?
Sandra Cho:
“Your primary residence is also real estate, so bear that in mind so you don’t put all your money in one asset class. Make sure you have stocks, bonds, and cash as well. Having these more liquid investments will be important when the property needs repair, doesn’t rent out immediately, or worse, the renters stop paying; and in the possible (but unlikely) event of a catastrophic event like a pipe burst or natural disaster,”
Tessa Campbell:
“Make sure to do your research before investing in real estate properties. For example, location is a huge aspect of successful real estate investing, as knowing the local community, market, and history of property prices can make a huge difference.”
How to Evaluate a Real-Estate Investing App
Our mission at Business Insider is to help smart people make the best decisions with their money. We know that “best” is often subjective, so we highlight a financial product’s clear benefits and any limitations with Business Insider’s rating methodology for investing platforms.
We spent hours comparing and contrasting real estate investing apps’ features and fine print so you don’t have to. We reviewed over a dozen real estate investing app crowdfunding platforms to determine the best options for low fees, investment types, and account features.
