“Online investment platforms like real estate are leveling the playing field for individual and institutional investors by bringing transparency and accessibility to real estate,” said Athwal. “In the past, investing in real estate was a very convoluted and reclusive process. It is a multi-trillion dollar industry and most investments are still done with pen and paper; with capital requirements in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. By marrying technology with changes in regulations under the JOBS Act, we have a been able to streamline the investment process, (offer) greater accessibility and reduce the barrier to entry substantially.”

In addition to this milestone, RealtyShares also recently announced that it has closed a $30-million line of credit through an institutional partner, which will allow the company to pre-fund every debt deal, as well as select equity investments, before making them available to investors through its marketplace. The credit line allows the platform to put its own balance sheet towards funding projects, bringing a new level of commitment to the investments listed on the platform. It also provides sponsors with more predictability around the funding of projects, an important aspect of any real estate transaction.

“Crowdfunding has gained a lot of traction with added information about it. There is so much potential for investors and sponsors and by marrying the two, the value is tremendous,” Brian Esquivel, RealtyShares' director of investments, tells GlobeSt.com. “The level of due diligence we do, a full scrubbing of a deal to vet the sponsor and the quality of the investment, provides a huge comfort level for all parties.”

Earlier this spring, RealtyShares offered investors the opportunity to invest up to $1.75 million of preferred equity in the Manon Arms Apartments, a 37-unit multifamily asset in Hayward, CA, one mile from the South Hayward BART station. The sponsor, Tesseract Capital Group, raised more than $11.5 million in capital from debt and equity sources for the project.

“One of the most reliable recipes of entrepreneurial success in the last 20 years has been taking an existing asset class and making it freely tradable by anyone in the world over the Internet,” said Gene Linetsky, RealtyShares' chief technology officer. “That's what eBay, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Airbnb and Uber have done, to name a few examples. And that's what we are in the process of doing with real estate.”

More than 300 of the industry's leading national investors, REITs, banks, private equity firms, asset management firms and other institutions will join us as we explore the market conditions behind the trends at this year's RealShare National Investment & Finance, scheduled for Oct. 5 and 6 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. Learn more.

SAN FRANCISCO—RealtyShares connects more than 25,000 accredited and institutional investors with pre-vetted real estate companies and operators looking to raise debt or equity capital through its marketplace. This community of investors is using the RealtyShares marketplace to review and participate in opportunities for as little as $5,000. The company has now raised more than $200 million in capital from its network of investors for residential and commercial real estate projects across the country.

“As a leader in the online real estate investing space, this accomplishment is not only important to the team here at RealtyShares, but also to the industry as a whole,” said Nav Athwal, founder and CEO of RealtyShares. “It is further proof that opening up real estate investing and capital formation through technology and bridging the gap between investors and operators has tremendous value.”

Since its founding in 2013 in wake of the JOBS Act, RealtyShares has launched more the 400 investment opportunities on the platform, funding residential and commercial projects in 31 states. After securing a $20 million Series B fundraising round led by Union Square Ventures, Menlo Ventures and General Catalyst Partners in February, RealtyShares accelerated efforts to build a comprehensive technology-driven real estate investment marketplace.

Growth soon followed. The company's second quarter was its largest, funding $43.6 million in investments. In August, RealtyShares welcomed a record 4,500 new accredited investors to the platform. Much of that growth comes from the company's focus on diversification, allowing investors a single platform to invest in a variety of deals from debt to equity, residential to commercial.

“Online investment platforms like real estate are leveling the playing field for individual and institutional investors by bringing transparency and accessibility to real estate,” said Athwal. “In the past, investing in real estate was a very convoluted and reclusive process. It is a multi-trillion dollar industry and most investments are still done with pen and paper; with capital requirements in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. By marrying technology with changes in regulations under the JOBS Act, we have a been able to streamline the investment process, (offer) greater accessibility and reduce the barrier to entry substantially.”

In addition to this milestone, RealtyShares also recently announced that it has closed a $30-million line of credit through an institutional partner, which will allow the company to pre-fund every debt deal, as well as select equity investments, before making them available to investors through its marketplace. The credit line allows the platform to put its own balance sheet towards funding projects, bringing a new level of commitment to the investments listed on the platform. It also provides sponsors with more predictability around the funding of projects, an important aspect of any real estate transaction.

“Crowdfunding has gained a lot of traction with added information about it. There is so much potential for investors and sponsors and by marrying the two, the value is tremendous,” Brian Esquivel, RealtyShares' director of investments, tells GlobeSt.com. “The level of due diligence we do, a full scrubbing of a deal to vet the sponsor and the quality of the investment, provides a huge comfort level for all parties.”

Earlier this spring, RealtyShares offered investors the opportunity to invest up to $1.75 million of preferred equity in the Manon Arms Apartments, a 37-unit multifamily asset in Hayward, CA, one mile from the South Hayward BART station. The sponsor, Tesseract Capital Group, raised more than $11.5 million in capital from debt and equity sources for the project.

“One of the most reliable recipes of entrepreneurial success in the last 20 years has been taking an existing asset class and making it freely tradable by anyone in the world over the Internet,” said Gene Linetsky, RealtyShares' chief technology officer. “That's what eBay, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Airbnb and Uber have done, to name a few examples. And that's what we are in the process of doing with real estate.”

More than 300 of the industry's leading national investors, REITs, banks, private equity firms, asset management firms and other institutions will join us as we explore the market conditions behind the trends at this year's RealShare National Investment & Finance, scheduled for Oct. 5 and 6 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. Learn more.