Will Fundrise’s expensive build-to-rent strategy pay off in the long run?

Welcome back to the final October edition of “The GowerCrowd Real Estate Crowdfunding Newsletter.” It might be spooky outside, with ghosts, ghouls, and goblins wandering the streets for All Hallows Eve, but no spectral presence here- just the RE crowdfunding stories and news you need to know.

This week, in the newsletter, we’ve got a new investment webinar from RealtyMogul- a high IRR self-storage project in Montgomery, NY. Then we’ll take a look at an upcoming live update and Q&A for Noble Vines, a Cape Coral, Florida multifamily project sponsored by the Latigo Group on CrowdStreet.

Moving on, we’ll look at Crowdfund Insider’s upcoming webinar featuring three Regulation A+ experts, as well as examine Fundrise’s recent strategy of paying over housing market value for build-to-rent properties- and a serious look at if it is paying off for the firm.

As is custom, we’ll finish with a few new podcasts, including a discussion with our own Dr. Gower and Brad Thomas of Wide Moat Research and a media offering from Morgan Stanley that asks- how can we create real estate investing opportunities for all?

Let’s get into it.

New Crowdfunding Platform Deals

First up is the Montgomery Self-Storage project on RealtyMogul. This upcoming deal, sponsored by Diversified Properties LLC, is a 7-building storage facility in the town of Montgomery, which sits in Orange County, NY- about 60 miles northwest of The Big Apple. The webinar is set to take place on October 26, 2022, at 12 PM PST. If you miss it, no worries, just click on this link to watch a recorded copy of the webinar.

We’ve also got another webinar, this time a CrowdStreet-hosted Live Q&A about Noble Vines, sponsored by The Latigo Group. This Cape Coral, Florida deal has a sky-high targeted investor IRR of 21.5%, a targeted equity multiple of 1.8x, and a sponsor co-invest of 13.3%- meaning the Latigo Group has serious skin in the game for this Florida multifamily project. Register for the Q&A here, or check out the deal page on CrowdStreet, here.

General Crowdfunding Industry News

Regulation A has been a mainstay of the real estate investing ecosystem for a long time- but it only really gained steam after the 2012 JOBS Act, a subject we’ve covered at length here in the newsletter. As a quick refresher, Reg A+ (the name Reg A received after the passage of the JOBS Act) is one of 3 exemptions that paved the way for legal online capital formation, aka online crowdfunding. 

On Wednesday, October 26, Crowdfund Insider will host a webinar with three prominent Reg A+ experts, including Doug Ellenoff– one of the fathers of the JOBS Act, as well as Dealmaker CEO Rebecca Kacaba and Dalmore Group Chairman Etan Butler. Learn more about this upcoming A+ event on Crowdfund Insider, here.

Crowdfunding Platform Updates

A recent article at Business Insider featured Trevor Koskovich, President of Investment Sales at Northmarq, and several other CF industry luminaries. In the article, they discuss why the firm is paying “way over housing market value” for some build-to-rent communities- and why they think it is a strategy that will pay off big down the line. 

This follows a nationwide trend of investors seeking the safety and high returns offered by many multifamily properties- which are attractive to investors in such a volatile market environment. Learn more about Fundrise’s build-to-rent push here.

Multimedia Links (Videos, Podcasts, etc.)

Finally, we’re going to look at two new podcasts.

In the latest episode of “The Real Estate Crowdfunding Show,” Dr. Gower interviews Brad Thomas, CEO of Wide Moat Research and a Senior Analyst at iREIT. Brad is a nationally recognized expert in the REIT investing space, and in this week’s episode, he shares some of his insider knowledge to help you be a better REIT investor. 

They discuss how REITs fluctuate with the movements of the broader markets and how you can find undervalued REITs. They also discuss Brad’s brand new ETF, which opens up a world of possibilities for new and veteran REIT investors alike. Check it out at Listen Notes, here.

We’ve also got a new episode of Morgan Stanley’s Access and Opportunity Podcast. This week, residential real estate investor Lisa Phillips discusses her journey from foreclosure to investment consultant. Then, host Carla Harris has a chat with Ryan Williams, Cadre’s Founder, and Executive Chairman, where they discuss how his firm is taking steps to democratize real estate investment- one deal at a time. Give it a listen on Morgan Stanley’s site, here.

That’s all for this week- but we’ll see you soon with lots more crowdfunding news, new deals, crowdfunding platform updates, and more. Ciao!