And the #1 MSA for population growth in the country is…

New Crowdfunding Platform Deals

Like many markets across the country, Boise, Idaho, is experiencing phenomenal growth. New residents are drawn to the region for its business-friendly climate, stunning natural beauty, and relative affordability compared to high COL areas on the coasts. But housing in the area is constrained- and builders and developers are struggling to get enough units online to meet the state’s needs. 

While not an ideal situation for residents looking for a deal on housing, this dearth of available units in and around Boise is a potential opportunity for investors. The Boise Growth Portfolio at CrowdStreet is a 122-unit multifamily, value-add portfolio, with properties located in the Boise MSA- a region that is growing at 4 times the national average and currently holds the number 1 spot in population growth nationwide. Take a look for yourself at CrowdStreet, here. 

Now let’s head down south, to Arizona, where SB Real Estate Partners is sponsoring the Azura apartments on RealtyMogul. This 387-unit, garden-style apartment property is located in the rapidly gentrifying North Market submarket in Phoenix, Arizona.  The sponsor has a large presence in the Phoenix market, with over 1,500 units acquired over the past decade. 

In order to take advantage of what they believe is significant rental upside, they plan to add value with a $2.4 million exterior and common area Capex, alongside $3.5 million in interior unit renovation Capex to bring the property up to standard with competing complexes in the vicinity. Head over to RealtyMogul to learn more about this project. 

General Crowdfunding Industry News

Vesta Equity recently launched a real estate-backed NFT platform, hoping to take advantage of the boom in real estate investors seeking the relative safety of real assets in a time of economic turmoil. The firm bills its new platform as the “world’s first peer-to-peer marketplace for real estate-backed NFT assets.” Homeowners or other property owners will have the ability to sell whole or fractions of their properties to users of the platform, who will be able to purchase tokenized, fractionalized NFTs packaged as a security. The firm is planning to expand to 12 states but is currently focused on its rollout in California. Get the rest of the scoop at Block Crypto, here.

If you’re on the hunt for a new crowdfunding platform, either to find new deals or to diversify your choice of platform, Benzinga’s pay-to-play list may have some options. They recently updated their longstanding “Best of Real Estate Crowdfunding List,” adding new platforms other than the established players we typically cover like CrowdStreet, RealtyMogul, Fundrise, etc. 

Included on the list are Streitwise, CITYVEST, Groundfloor, Arrived Homes, and others. They also includes platforms by category, including Best For Newer Accredited Investors, Best for Farm Investors, Best for Portfolio Diversity, and more. Check out the full list here.

Crowdfunding Platform Updates

Real estate investment marketplace GroundFloor recently announced $118 million in new capital. The new cash is split between $100 million in debt capital, which was provided by Medipower, $5.8 million in equity from Medipower, $7.2 million in equity from a SeedInvest crowdfund offering and $5 million in convertible notes from 86 individual investors who used the GroundFloor platform to make an investment.

According to the company, Medipower may also commit up to $200 million more in funding in the future, and Medipower’s Chairman, Yair Goldfinger, is set to join the GroundFloor board. GroundFloor plans to use any additional funding to scale operations, as well as buoy their customer acquisition and product development departments. They plan to hire 50 new employees in 2022, which will nearly double the company’s size. Since the initial launch of the GroundFloor platform, they’ve raised $41.8 million in funding from numerous sources, including public equity and venture capital, and they are currently more than 30% customer-owned. Read more at Crowdfund Insider, here.

That’s all we’ve got for this week, but we’ll see you next time with lots more crowdfunding news stories, new deals, platform updates, and more. See you then!