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Investing in real estate doesn’t have to be difficult. If you want to avoid the legwork of conducting extensive property research, finding tenants, and regularly maintaining the asset(s), you have several easier alternatives.
Online investment apps offer convenience and increased accessibility for a wider audience of potential investors to diversify their investment portfolios online without needing to set foot on a property. Real estate investing is also an excellent way to generate passive income from rental properties or earn dividends from real estate investment trusts (REITs).
DLP Capital is best for beginner real estate investors looking to earn passive income through tax-advantaged private REITs. For a high $200,000 minimum, DLP Capital offers short-term real estate investments with more liquidity than competitors. But investors must be accredited.
The best real estate investing apps offer low ongoing fees, multiple investment options, user-friendly interfaces, and easily met minimum investment requirements. Real estate crowdfunding platforms make this possible. You can add residential, commercial, and other real estate investments to your portfolio at low costs.
Here is how to invest in real estate with the top real-estate investment apps as picked by Business Insider’s editors in 2024.
Fundrise is a real estate investing app with a $10 minimum, it offers eREITs, electronic real estate funds, venture capital funds, and Fundrise IPOs. It’s best for hands-off investors looking for low fees as Fundrise’s investments have a minimum term of five years.
You don’t need to be accredited to invest with Fundrise. Anyone can open an account as long as they meet the app’s minimum requirements. All Fundrise portfolios have auto-investing features, dividend reinvesting, and referral discounts.
What to look out for: If you can’t afford to hold your money for at least five years, Fundrise is probably not the best option for you.
Fundrise allows you to invest in commercial real estate projects across the US, Fundrise IPOs, and venture funds.
Fundrise is one of the best real estate investing apps for non-accredited investors looking to make long-term investments in real estate and venture funds. The platform accepts clients regardless of annual income or net worth.
DiversyFund offers a generally low $500, although it is significantly higher than Fundrise. DiversyFund manages your real estate investments for you and offers its services to non-accredited and accredited investors.
DiversyFund offers its own Growth REIT, which invests in multifamily properties with more than 100 units. This means that the robo-advisor owns and manages all of the real estate assets you’ll be investing in. Its REIT investment strategy aims to generate growth over five years with targeted returns between 10% and 20%.
What to look out for: You cannot withdraw or cash out your investments until your minimum five-year investment term ends. DiversyFund reinvests the dividends and earnings your investment generates until the real estate asset is sold.
DiversyFund offers private commercial real estate investments to both accredited investors and nonaccredited investors (or people with less than $1 million to invest).
2% annual asset management fee and a closing real estate transaction fee
DiversyFund is one of the best real estate investing apps for non-accredited investors who don’t mind waiting five years to see their investments grow. It’s also available to accredited investors.
Roofstock is one of the best apps to buy rental properties. For a $0 ($5,000 for Roofstock One) minimum, you can buy, sell, and manage properties with free financial management software. Moreover, accredited investors can access fractionalized investments in curated portfolios.
Roofstock lets you invest in single-family rental properties. Once you purchase a property, you don’t have to worry about being left out to fend for yourself — Roofstock assigns a property manager to each rental. Properties are usually tenant-occupied, and property managers are there to assist you as you earn monthly rental income.
Although Roofstock doesn’t have an account minimum, you will be charged a $500 or 0.5% contract price (whichever is higher). Depending on the rental, you may also have to pay a down payment on the property and other additional fees.
What to look out for: The downside is that this could be more expensive than investing in a REIT or other real estate fund since you’re purchasing and making down payments on properties. Another thing to note is that while Roofstock is launching a Roofsavvy mobile app for iOS users, it doesn’t currently have any mobile apps available.
Roofstock is an online real estate platform that lets you buy or sell rental properties
Roofstock is one of the best real estate investing apps for hands-on investors looking to trade actual rental properties. Both accredited and non-accredited investors can use the platform to invest in single-family rental homes with no minimum requirement.
RealtyMogul makes real estate investing accessible to everyone and is best for investing in commercial real estate. You can even invest if you aren’t an accredited investor, but you’ll need a minimum of $5,000 to begin. As for your investment options, RealtyMogul lets you purchase stakes in commercial real estate either as REITs or single properties.
Single properties (private placements) are only available to accredited investors, but both accredited and non-accredited investors can purchase the company’s REITs. RealtyMogul’s average annual return on investments of at least five years is 5.49%, and its average annual return on investments of 15 years is 19.17%.
The real estate investing app offers automated investment management through its auto-invest feature. But this is only available if you invest in one of the company’s REITs (MogulREIT I or MogulREIT II). In addition, you can use funds from your IRA to invest in REITs.
What to look out for: You’ll need at least $5,000 to invest in REITs, but other investments — such as individual properties — have minimums ranging from $25,000 to $50,000. While RealtyMogul isn’t the cheapest, it’s also not the most expensive.
RealtyMogul is one of the best real estate investing apps for buying and selling commercial real estate. It’s ideal for investors interested in earning regular returns from public, non-traded REITs.
EquityMultiple is best for accredited investors looking to invest in a wide variety of assets and who have at least $5,000 (minimums can also range between $10,000 and $30,000) to invest. You can invest in institutional, commercial real estate, equity, preferred equity, and senior debt.
EquityMultiple offers various investment approaches, such as Fund Investing, Direct Investing, and Savings Alternative Investing. Each approach utilizes different investment strategies, time horizons, and minimum requirements.
The platform’s range of property types includes multifamily, office, industrial, storage, car wash, cannabis facilities, retail, mixed-use, opportunity zones, senior living facilities, student housing, and data centers. You can also open and invest with self-directed IRAs.
What to look out for: EquityMultiple only accepts accredited investors, so this isn’t a good option if your net worth is less than $1 million. In addition, investment minimums are on the high side, so be prepared to invest between $5,000 and $30,000 in real estate.
EquityMultiple offers managed assets — including equity, preferred equity, institutional commercial real estate, and senior debt
Varies; typically 0.5% (EquityMultiple also charges annual administrative expense fee of $30-$70)
EquityMultiple is one of the best real estate investing apps for accredited investors. It offers commercial real estate assets, senior debt, equity, and preferred equity.
With a $25,000 (up to $250,000 for some offerings) minimum investment requirement, CrowdStreet specifically serves accredited investors. The platform lets you invest in commercial real estate in diversified funds and vehicles, individual deals, and tailored portfolios.
With CrowdStreet’s diversified funds and vehicles option, you can select a single real estate investment to add to your portfolio. If you’re more of a DIY-minded investor, you can use the individual deals investment option to directly choose your real estate investment opportunities through the CrowdStreet Marketplace.
And if you’re looking for more guidance with real estate investing, the company’s tailored portfolio investment option builds a customized and professionally managed real estate portfolio for you.
CrowdStreet charges investors no fees to join the platform or access real estate opportunities; it mainly charges real estate sponsors fees. These generally range from 0.50% to 2.5%.
What to look out for: CrowdStreet is only for accredited investors, and you’ll need at least $25,000 (up to $250,000 for some offerings) to start investing. The company also typically requires you to buy and hold investments for a minimum of three to five years, so CrowdStreet is best for accredited investors who can park their money for multiple years.
CrowdStreet offers institutional-level investments (those that are usually available to public entities and larger-scale investors) in commercial real estate.
CrowdStreet is one of the best real estate investing apps for active and passive accredited investors who want access to a wide range of commercial real estate investments.
Yieldstreet offers real estate and other alternative investments to accredited investors with at least $10,000. You can invest in the following alternative asset types with Yieldstreet: real estate, legal finance, marine finance, crypto, commercial and consumer finance, and art finance.
But don’t worry if you aren’t an accredited investor. You can still invest in the Yieldstreet Prism fund, which lets you invest in multiple alternative asset types. Yieldstreet also has more lenient investment terms than some of the other real estate apps in this roundup. You can invest for as short as six months or up to five years.
What to look out for: Yieldstreet is primarily available to accredited investors or individuals with at least $1 million net worth. If you’re a non-accredited investor, you can still invest with Yieldstreet, but you’ll only have access to one fund: Yieldstreet’s Prism fund.
Yieldstreet offers investments in real estate, shipping vessels, legal settlements, art, and financial instruments
Yieldstreet is best for experienced, high-income/high-net-worth investors, but folks who don’t have six figures to invest in should look elsewhere. Yieldstreet is one of the best real estate investing apps for folks interested in real estate and alternative investments.
Groundfloor is a wealthtech platform best for short-term real estate debt investments through SEC-qualified Limited Recourse Obligations (LROs) and notes. There’s a $10 minimum to get started. It’s available to both accredited and non-accredited investors.
Investment terms range from 30 days to 18 months. Accredited and nonaccredited investors can use Groundfloor’s self-directed and automatic investing features and a proprietary loan-grading algorithm. Investments have a history of a 10% annual return.
Groundfloor also offers IRAs (traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, and rollover) and a mobile investing called Stairs. The mobile app has a base rate of 4% annual interest.
What to look out for: Although Groundfloor doesn’t charge management fees, it does require a $10 and may charge additional service fees on loans. It also costs $1,250 for closing, plus $495 on loan applications.
Groundfloor offers SEC-qualified (under SEC regulation A+) real estate note investments
Groundfloor is best for experienced and passive investors, looking to profit from short-term real estate investments. There are no management fees, and it offers shorter investment terms than some competitors.
That depends on your particular risk tolerance and savings goals. Real estate investments are extremely illiquid, so you won’t be able to convert your money into cash as easily as you could with a stock or exchange-traded investment. Additionally, most real estate investing apps require you to hold your investments for at least five years to earn higher returns.
Real estate apps are great for investing in real estate without buying and managing properties yourself. The best real estate investing apps often offer automated account management, so you won’t have to worry about reinvesting dividends or calling big shots.
The best real estate investing app for you depends on your investment goals, risk tolerance, time horizon, and how much you’re willing to invest. There are two main ways to invest in real estate online: real estate investment trusts (REITs) and crowdfunding platforms.
REITs are companies that own, operate, and finance real estate ventures. Like mutual funds and ETFs, REITs invest in multiple properties so users can earn a share of the income of multiple assets. The best apps for real estate investing can help diversify your investment portfolios and generate cash flow.
Most online real estate investing platforms allow traders to customize a portfolio based on their preferences. However, not all crowdfunding platforms are universally available, as many require you to be an accredited investor. Still, platforms like Groundfloor and Fundrise also accept nonaccredited investors.
Reputable real estate investing apps are safe and prioritize protecting users’ assets and personal information. Many public REITs are registered with the SEC. But before opening an account, make sure to look into a company’s background and the security measures it takes.
The main risk of investing in real estate through apps is the potential for quick, uninformed decision-making. Investing in real estate is not only risky but also expensive. The convenience of mobile real estate apps may cause some individuals to make bad investment decisions without proper research or risk assessment.
You don’t need to be an accredited investor to use a real estate investing app. There are plenty of real estate investing apps that cater to both accredited and non-accredited investors. However, some platforms require you to be accredited to use it, so make sure you qualify before attempting to sign up.
We interviewed the following investing experts to see what they had to say about the best real estate investing apps.
“Investing in real estate provides a series of advantages such as a long-term appreciation, increased asset control, portfolio diversification, a hedge against market volatility, and access to a passive cash flow. Investors may also be able to benefit from tax advantages like tax-free capital gains and deductions in interest.
“But just like with any investment, there’s no guarantee that your real-estate investments will be successful. This can be a significant disadvantage as investing in real estate is generally more expensive than other, more liquid assets like stocks or bonds. Other downsides of investing in real estate are the long-term commitment, extensive fees, high minimums, and overall illiquidity.”
“People who already have a diversified traditional investment account and have excess funds they would like to invest in an alternative asset class.”
“You should consider investing in real estate if you have the funds to meet the high minimums and are looking for long-term alternative investment options to gain passive cash flow, hedge against inflation, and diversify your investment portfolio.”
“Your primary residence is also real estate, so bear that in mind so you don’t put all your money in one asset class. Make sure you have stocks, bonds, and cash as well. Having these more liquid investments will be important when the property needs repair, doesn’t rent out immediately, or worse, the renters stop paying; and in the possible (but unlikely) event of a catastrophic event like a pipe burst or natural disaster,”
“Make sure to do your research before investing in real estate properties. For example, location is a huge aspect of successful real estate investing, as knowing the local community, market, and history of property prices can make a huge difference.”
Our mission at Business Insider is to help smart people make the best decisions with their money. We know that “best” is often subjective, so we highlight a financial product’s clear benefits and any limitations with Business Insider’s rating methodology for investing platforms.
We spent hours comparing and contrasting real estate investing apps’ features and fine print so you don’t have to. We reviewed over a dozen real estate investing app crowdfunding platforms to determine the best options for low fees, investment types, and account features.