CrowdStreet Review
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What I think of CrowdStreet
If you’re after a well-equipped investment platform with a broad spectrum of real estate offerings, CrowdStreet’s worth a look. The CrowdStreet Marketplace contains a myriad of investment opportunities, from multifamily properties to industrial deals. Plus, it offers funds and managed portfolios for those who prefer the hands-off approach.
But first thing’s first: if you’re not an accredited investor, you’ll want to look elsewhere. There are real estate investment platforms open to non-accredited investors — but CrowdStreet isn’t one of them.
Second: being an accredited investor isn’t enough. You’ll need a $25,000 minimum investment, and most deals require you to lock in your funds for at least three years.
All that aside, CrowdStreet has a lot going for it. Individual deals are available through the CrowdStreet Marketplace, and investors have direct access to property sponsors. And for those interested in having their investments managed for them, CrowdStreet’s financial team stands at the ready — so long as you have at least $250,000 in your portfolio.
CrowdStreet offers 3 investment options
CrowdStreet offers three ways to invest in commercial real estate online.
1. Individual deals
The CrowdStreet marketplace is filled with multifamily, retail, office, industrial and land real estate investment opportunities. With no intermediaries, investors communicate directly with property sponsors. You can filter properties by type, equity multiple, distribution schedules, minimum hold periods, minimum investments and more.
A quick breakdown of the process:
- Create an account. It’s free to create an account, and you can complete the application process on CrowdStreet’s website.
- Browse the marketplace. Explore the active deals on the CrowdStreet Marketplace to find an investment property that matches your risk tolerance and investment goals.
- Submit offer. Select the investment amount you’d like to put up and submit your offer to the property sponsor.
- Fund your offer. If your offer is accepted, fund your offer with a wire transfer, ACH transfer or check.
- Monitor investments. Track your investments from your CrowdStreet account.
2. Funds and vehicles
Diversify your portfolio without tracking and managing multiple individual investments with real estate funds and vehicles. Fund minimums start at $25,000, are hand-picked by its investment professionals and contain a basket of commercial real estate investments.
Through a single investment, you can expand your portfolio and support multiple projects. Reporting, documentation and tax information is delivered regularly to your account so you can track the performance of the fund.
3. Managed portfolios
Prefer hands-off investing? For a fee, CrowdStreet connects you with its team of financial professionals to build your investment strategy and portfolio for you. With this service, property investments are made on your behalf by your CrowdStreet advisor based on your risk tolerance and investment goals. To participate, investors need a starting account balance of at least $250,000.
Who is CrowdStreet best for?
CrowdStreet’s online real estate investment platform is a good fit for:
- Accredited investors. While CrowdStreet says it offers the occasional investment to non-accredited investors, the majority of properties and funds available are limited to accredited investors.
- Real-estate savvy investors. While the platform offers detailed information on individual deals, investors should still be prepared to conduct research on available properties.
- Hands-off investors. Passive investors looking to expand their portfolio into commercial real estate may be interested in the platform’s portfolio management service.
Pros and cons
Pros
- No intermediaries. CrowdStreet offers investors direct access to property sponsors.
- Transparency. Investors can peruse investment property specs and developer track records before they invest.
- Screening process. Before a developer can post on the CrowdStreet marketplace, they are evaluated and ranked based on the platform’s internal criteria.
Cons
- High minimums. You need at least $25,000 to invest in CrowdStreet funds and at least $250,000 to access a custom-built portfolio.
- Limited to accredited investors. You must be an accredited investor to invest in the CrowdStreet Marketplace.
Pricing and fees
Most of the properties on CrowdStreet’s online marketplace are limited to investors that meet the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s financial criteria for accredited investors. To be an accredited investor, you must meet one of the following:
- You earned over $200,000 in each of the last two years and expect the same for this year.
- You and your spouse earned over $300,000 in each of the last two years and expect the same for this year.
- You have a net worth of at least $1 million, alone or together with your spouse, excluding the value of your primary residence.
Platform minimums and advisory fees are as follows:
| Individual deal investment minimum | $25,000–$100,000 |
| Funds and vehicles investment minimum | $25,000–$100,000 |
| Funds and vehicles management fee | 0.75%–5% |
| Portfolio management investment minimum | $250,000 |
| Portfolio management account fees | Varies by portfolio |
CrowdStreet’s $25,000 investment minimum is fairly steep. A number of its competitors, including Fundrise, DiversyFund and PeerStreet, offer investment minimums in the $500 to $1,000 range.
CrowdStreet reviews and complaints
CrowdStreet reviews are limited. It has a Better Business Bureau (BBB) page but isn’t an accredited BBB business. There are no reviews, and it had two complaints lodged against it in the last three years.
On Trustpilot, CrowdStreet earns a TrustScore of 3.5 out of 5 based on 93 reviews, as of July 2022. Investors praise the platform’s ease of use, variety of investment offerings and sponsor vetting process. Far and away, the most common complaint was about CrowdStreet’s customer service. Investors report that the support team is difficult to reach and slow to respond.
There are no complaints about the platform on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
| BBB rating | F |
| BBB accredited | No |
| BBB customer rating | N/A |
| Trustpilot score | 3.5/5 out of 93 customer reviews |
| Google Play app | N/A |
| Apple app store | N/A |
| Customer reviews verified as of | July 2022 |
How do I get started?
Start the signup process from CrowdStreet’s home page:
- Select Create an account.
- Enter your full name and create a password. Review CrowdStreet’s Terms of Service and choose Sign up.
Once you’ve created an account, you’ll have access to all of CrowdStreet’s listings. But to make an offer, you’ll need to complete your investor profile.
Enter your personal information, contact information, employment information and details of your investing experience. You’ll also need to disclose your investment objectives and select the types of investment properties you’re interested in.
CrowdStreet customer service
Touch base with the CrowdStreet support team by:
Phone. Call 888-432-7693 and leave a message to have your call returned within 72 hours.
Email. Fill out an online form on CrowdStreet’s website to receive an email response from the support team.
Is CrowdStreet Right for You?
Whether you decide to use Crowdstreet’s platform depends on your risk tolerance, liquidity needs, and whether or not you can afford to lose it all. The investments carry higher risks, are complex, and suited to match specific investor profiles.
What’s to Like
- Institutional-Quality Real Estate Projects: Only the best of the best make it onto CrowdStreet’s platform. Only five out of every one hundred deals are accepted.
- User-Friendly: While navigating inside the dashboard, I easily located deals with complete details of my portfolio and all transactions.
- Direct-to-Investor Model: All deals are structured, letting you invest directly in the projects with the ability to contact sponsors and developers.
- Deal Transparency: The Offering Detail page includes all information for projects with a complete breakdown, including fees, distributions, lengths, and terms. You’ll also find the sponsor’s co-investment for the project.
- Potentially High Returns: CrowdStreet’s dollar-weighted average realized returns boasts an XIRR of 26.3%.
What’s Not to Like
- Illiquid Deals: If your time horizon is short, CrowdStreet won’t be a good fit. All of the deals I saw on its platform had a two-year minimum. Most had considerably longer timeframes.
- High Minimums: Individual deals and its Blended Portfolio have a $25,000 minimum. Gaining access to its advisory service requires a steeper cost of $250,000.
- Accredited Investors: CrowdStreet is only available to high net worth individuals. You must meet the requirements of either a $200,000 income from the previous two years ($300,000 with a spouse), have a net worth exceeding $1 million, or have a trust with assets exceeding $5 million.
