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March | April | 2015
by Sara Drummond
Crowdfunding is probably the biggest buzz-
word to hit the commercial real estate indus-
try in the last couple of years. But what's
the reality behind the hype? As hundreds
of crowdfunding portals appear online, is
this really the disruptive technology that
some experts claim or just another option
for funding and investing in commercial
real estate?
To f nd out how it all works, Commercial
Investment Real Estate talked to three CCIM
members who are active in the crowdfund-
ing arena: Elizabeth Braman, CCIM, chief
production of cer, Realty Mogul Co.; Adam
Hooper, CCIM, CEO/founder, RealCrowd;
and Darren Powderly, CCIM, co-founder,
vice president of real estate, CrowdStreet.
CIRE: What's a typical size and type
of deal your company targets for
equity crowdfunding?
Elizabeth Braman, CCIM: We make
investments in the range of $1 million to $5
million per deal. We will invest alongside
other investors as well as taking a minority
interest.
Adam Hooper, CCIM: At the beginning
of 2014, average deal size was around $19
million; in the last quarter of 2014 the aver-
age deal size was $24 million. We anticipate
to grow substantially in 2015 as we are cur-
rently looking at several $100 million-plus
projects. We've seen projects in of ce, retail,
industrial, and multifamily. T e bulk of the
opportunities have been property acquisi-
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
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