A new direction and name change for real estate crowdfunding platform LendingHome.

It’s been an exciting week in the real estate crowdfunding space. We saw CrowdStreet’s Life Sciences & Healthcare Fund I, LLC, Series I go live, a new manufactured home project, also listed on CrowdStreet, a new Avocado farm crowdfund offering at AcreTrader, and a big name change for crowdfunding platform LendingHome. Let’s get into it. 

New Crowdfunding Platform Deals

The CrowdStreet Life Sciences and Healthcare Fund 1 went live last week, with investment opportunities now available for interested investors. This fund targets properties that are in a position to benefit from the substantial coming growth in the healthcare and life sciences sectors which is largely driven by the number of Americans aging into retirement. CrowdStreet seeks to balance appreciation and income with this fund, and it is purpose-built to be able to take advantage of different markets, sponsors, and investment strategies- remaining more nimble than many other focused funds. Check it out at CrowdStreet, here.

Also newly released at CrowdStreet is the Lakewood Manufactured Housing Portfolio, a low-vacancy, manufactured housing portfolio comprised of 86 units across two parks in Lakewood, Colorado, which sits roughly 5 miles from downtown Denver. Vacancy rates for the parks sit at 98.9%, signifying strong leasing demand. 

Additionally, the park sits within the Jefferson County School District, which ranks in the 89th percentile among Colorado school districts. The project has a targeted investor IRR of 15.4%, a targeted equity multiple of 1.5x, a targeted average cash yield of 4.7%, and a targeted investment period of 3 years. Head on over CrowdStreet to learn more about the Lakewood Manufactured Housing Portfolio, here.

Finally, we’ve got an interesting project from AcreTrader, a large avocado farm in Queensland, Australia, the Mareeba Avocado Orchard. The farm is comprised of 4 separate properties in Paddy’s Green, a rural locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Queensland. Altogether the properties are comprised of 415.5 gross acres and are currently used in the production of mangoes, lychees, lemons, and Shepard avocados. The deal sponsor plans to remove everything but the avocados and replant more avocados in their place- totaling 139.4 additional acres of avocado production. Check out the info seminar on AcreTrader, here.

General Crowdfunding Industry News

There may be good news on the horizon for industry participants, investors, and other stakeholders who are concerned about our ongoing supply chain crunch- particularly in the real estate space. In a recent article at Markets Insider, RealtyMogul CEO Jilliene Helman told the author that “If development in China slows considerably, I think that there could be an advantage to the US in that it will free up construction materials for US builders.” According to this article from SCMP, output in construction industries shrank by 1.8% in the third quarter- a big drop for a once roaring sector of the Chinese economy- one that accounts for 30% of the country’s GDP. 

Crowdfunding Platform Updates

In another big change shaking up the real estate crowdfunding space, LendingHome is rebranding and will now go by the name “Kiavi.” The change comes as part of a larger strategic initiative for the firm, which the firm claims will “reflect the company’s mission of helping “real estate investors realize the full potential of their real estate investment strategies.” The firm’s internal data shows more than $7.8 billion in loans funded via 35,000 individual projects, with the firm reporting earlier this month that they had closed on a $388 million revolving mortgage-backed securitization transaction that will provide capital and support roughly $1.2 billion in originations, primarily in the bridge and rental sector. 

Now down to Austin, Texas, where a brand new firm called OwnProp intends to leverage blockchain technology to give investors the ability to buy and sell property in a similar manner to traditional stocks/equities. Currently, the firm’s blockchain/distributed ledger is still pending regulatory approval by the SEC, but CEO Peter Rex expects that approval to come down within the next 18 months. Once approved, investors with as little as $1 will be able to buy and sell fractional shares in properties. Accredited investors will get to the party a bit earlier, with Rex expecting to begin soliciting investment funds this December, primarily for Austin’s Hotel Ella and an office building at 1002 West Avenue, also in Austin. 

That’s all we’ve got for this week, but don’t forget to take a look at some of the rest of the stories on our list- and we’ll be back next week with plenty more real estate crowdfunding news, stories, projects, and updates. Ciao.