EquityMultiple Review 2024

A real estate crowdfunding platform offering accredited investors access to professionally managed commercial real estate opportunities.

EquityMultiple’s diverse deal selection, reasonable fees, and high target returns are key reasons why it is our pick for the best real estate investment platform for accredited investors. The company is also our top pick for transparency, because of the steps it takes to disclose vital information to prospective investors. EquityMultiple only works with accredited investors, however, meaning non-accredited investors looking for the right real estate crowdfunding platform will need to search elsewhere. 

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Pros & Cons 

Pros Explained

• Excellent selection of real estate investments: EquityMultiple offers a combination of short-term debt investments lasting a year or less, professionally managed funds and portfolios, and long-term equity investments where you buy directly into real estate projects. You can choose based on your goals, timeline, and risk tolerance.1
• High historic and target returns: EquityMultiple’s Ascent Income Fund reports a historic return/distribution yield of 13.1%.2 Individual real estate projects have target returns of 18% or more.1
• Excellent transparency over fees and investment risks: EquityMultiple clearly explains its fees and performance reporting frequency to investors. It also properly explains the liquidity risks of using its investments. 
• Solid educational offerings: If you want to learn more about real estate investing, EquityMultiple provides excellent educational content. These include a blog, market insights, podcasts, and live training.

Cons Explained

• Only accepts accredited investors: You must meet the SEC income or net worth requirements of an accredited investor to use EquityMultiple. This platform does not accept non-accredited investors.
• Minimal investment liquidity: EquityMultiple does not let you cash out of an investment before the end of the stated term. EquityMultiple might not be a fit if you need flexible access to your money.
• No investments outside commercial real estate: EquityMultiple does not offer investment opportunities in sectors other than commercial real estate.
• No mobile app: EquityMultiple only operates through its online platform. The company has yet to create an app for mobile users. 

Company Overview

EquityMultiple is a real estate investing platform based out of New York City. It finds commercial real estate investment opportunities, which it lists for investors on the platform. EquityMultiple launched in 2015 and created its first real estate deal for investors in September 2015. Today, it has over 48,000 investors using the platform and has distributed over $379 million in earnings.3

In December 2023, EquityMultiple partnered with Marcus & Millichap, North America’s #1 commercial real estate brokerage. This partnership aims to increase the number of deals on the EquityMultiple platform.4

How Does EquityMultiple Work?

EquityMultiple partners with a national network of real estate firms to learn about investment opportunities. The company then screens each possible deal through its internal algorithms and professional underwriting team. It accepts about 5% of deals based on this screening.6

If an investment opportunity meets EquityMultiple’s standards, it will list the deal on the platform for users. The platform will share information about each opportunity, including the details about the property, the type of investment, the minimum contribution, and the target return. You pick the ones you find most attractive to build your portfolio on EquityMultiple. EquityMultiple divides its investments into three categories: Keep, Earn, and Grow.

Keep

The Keep category focuses on short-term cash management. You put your money in Alpine Notes, financing EquityMultiple’s line of credit for real estate deals. The notes are available with durations of three, six, or nine months and have fixed annual percentage yields (APYs) of 6.0%, 7.05%, and 7.4%, respectively.7 

Earn

The Earn category focuses on short-term real estate investments, which balance return with quickly getting your money back. These include senior debt, preferred equity, and yield-focused real estate funds. You get your money back in about a year, and the target return is between 8% and 14%, depending on the investment.1

Grow

The Grow category focuses on long-term real estate investments with higher target returns. These include real estate funds and portfolios put together by EquityMultiple, as well as equity in individual properties. It could take several years to get your money back from these investments.

Key Features

EquityMultiple is one of nine real estate crowdfunding platforms we reviewed that is only open to accredited investors. Any individual or entity can use the EquityMultiple platform, provided they meet the accredited investor standards and have a U.S. Tax Identification number, a Social Security number, or an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Non-U.S. citizens could use EquityMultiple by owning an investment entity registered in the United States with an EIN.

The minimum required to start investing with EquityMultiple depends on the opportunity. Most properties require $10,000 to $30,000, while the Ascent Income Fund requires $20,000, and it takes $5,000 to open an Alpine Note.5

Thanks to EquityMultiple’s simple and well-designed platform, navigating the different investments, making contributions, and running your portfolio is easy. EquityMultiple offers both curated portfolios, where it picks the properties for you under one managed fund, as well as the ability to customize your holdings by selecting individual properties to invest in.1

Investments pay ongoing monthly or quarterly dividends, depending on the project. At the end of the term, you get your money and any profits from the investment. EquityMultiple allows you to automatically reinvest with its Ascent Income Fund, while the Alpine Note allows investors to roll over into another note, as these are ongoing investments. For other projects, you need to find a new investment for your earnings manually.

Fees

EquityMultiple fees depend on the type of investment. For equity investments in properties, EquityMultiple charges a 0.5% to 1.5% annual management fee over the life of the project. At the end of the project, EquityMultiple returns all contributions to investors first. It could then collect up to 10% of the remaining profits before distributing the remainder to investors.8

For debt and preferred equity, EquityMultiple charges a servicing fee of about 1% a year. When it displays your expected return on a possible investment, it’s adjusted to account for the fee. EquityMultiple does not charge fees for using its short-term Alpine Notes.9

For funds and portfolios managed by EquityMultiple, the fees depend on the investment. There could be an origination fee to start your investment and a management fee. You’ll see these listed on the platform.

EquityMultiple could also charge you $30 to $70 a year to cover administrative expenses like tax document creation and annual filings. Overall, EquityMultiple fees are competitive compared to other popular real estate crowdfunding platforms.

Transparency

Our researchers considered how easy it was to find information about investing in different real estate platforms. We assessed whether platforms clearly disclosed fees, the liquidity risks of investing in real estate, and the reporting options/frequency on investment performance.

EquityMultiple was highly transparent in all these categories. It clearly presents the information needed for investors on its website. For this reason, we rated EquityMultiple as the most transparent real estate platform based on our reviews. 

Liquidity

Liquidity measures how easily you can get your money back from an investment. EquityMultiple does not offer liquid investments that you can cash out at any time. Instead, you need to follow the investment term. 

The Alpine Notes return your money most quickly as they only last between three and nine months. After one month, you can move your money from an Alpine Note into another EquityMultiple investment. However, you can’t request your cash back before the end of the Alpine Note term.9

The Ascent Income Fund gives you a redemption option to cash out after one year. From that point on, you get additional redemption options every six months. The other real estate investments are not liquid and require long-term commitments with EquityMultiple funding. Each project lists the lock-up period, usually between five and seven years. EquityMultiple warns investors not to use these investments if they have liquidity needs and might need their money back before the end of the term. There’s no way to cash out early.

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Investment Selection

EquityMultiple has an excellent selection of real estate investments for different timelines. These include:

• Real estate notes offered by EquityMultiple: These notes last between three and nine months and pay a fixed return, guaranteed by EquityMultiple.
• Senior debt and preferred equity investments in real estate projects: These investments also aim to earn a fixed return from a real estate property. They are safer than buying equity shares in a property and return your money more quickly. However, the target returns are lower.
• Private real estate investment trusts (REITs) and funds managed by EquityMultiple: Each fund lists its goals, fees, redemption options, and target returns.
• Equity investments where you buy shares directly in an investment property: These are long-term investments of between five and seven years. The target returns are the highest.

EquityMultiple only focuses on real estate investments. It does not offer other alternative investments such as art, fine wine, private equity, or venture capital. If you’d like these other investments for your portfolio along with real estate, consider Fundrise or Yieldstreet.

Sectors and Domains

EquityMultiple focuses on commercial real estate investments spread across the United States. These include office buildings, multi-family apartment buildings, self-storage units, and other commercial projects. However, EquityMultiple does not invest in single-family real estate projects.  

Educational Offerings

EquityMultiple provides extensive, high-quality educational offerings. It offers a lengthy, well-organized help section, and the EquityMultiple FAQs answer the most common questions for potential investors.

EquityMultiple also runs a blog with a solid range of materials. These include short educational articles as well as more thorough case studies and white papers. EquityMultiple also publishes its own market insights and a podcast. Finally, EquityMultiple runs live training for its investors. EquityMultiple has robust educational offerings compared to the typical real estate investment platform.

Customer Support 

EquityMultiple offers solid overall customer support. It provides customer support by phone and live chat during business hours, Monday to Friday. You can also send questions by email or through an online form. EquityMultiple does not have an automated chatbot or its own mobile app. You can only access your account through the website. If you’d like a mobile-focused platform, Fundrise, Groundfloor, and HappyNest are just a few with their own apps.

EquityMultiple has not received many user reviews on Trustpilot, as a relatively small company. However, the ones listed were primarily negative about customer service. Reviewers expressed trouble setting up accounts, receiving necessary tax documents, and frustration with investment returns.10

The Bottom Line

If you’re an accredited investor interested in adding commercial real estate to your portfolio, EquityMultiple should be on your radar. It carefully screens each possible investment before only accepting the top 5% for its platform. EquityMultiple offers an excellent variety of both short-term and long-term real estate investments. The target returns, fees, and customer support options are all solid, and the platform is user-friendly.

EquityMultiple scored so well in our review that we picked it as the best real estate crowdfunding platform for accredited investors. That, unfortunately, is the main drawback. You’ll need to look elsewhere if you don’t qualify as an accredited investor based on your income or net worth. EquityMultiple is also not a good choice if you might need flexible access to your money because it doesn’t offer early withdrawals or cancellations. However, the company is transparent about its limitations, which is why it is also the best for transparency. If you have money for a long-term investment and meet the user requirements, consider EquityMultiple.

Why You Should Trust Us

Investopedia analyzed 19 real estate crowdfunding companies and scored each based on eight major categories and 38 criteria that are crucial in evaluating the offerings and usability of these platforms. We used this data to review each company for their fees, investment selection, transparency, and other features to provide unbiased, comprehensive reviews to ensure our readers make the right decision for their needs. Investopedia launched in 1999 and has been helping readers find the best real estate crowdfunding platforms since 2020.

How Does EquityMultiple Make Money?

EquityMultiple makes money as a real estate crowdfunding platform by connecting investors to commercial real estate projects. EquityMultiple lists these possible projects on its platforms. It charges investors ongoing fees for managing each investment. At the end of a real estate project, EquityMultiple collects a share of the profits.

What’s the Difference Between Investing Through EquityMultiple and Investing in a Public REIT?

The main difference between investing through EquityMultiple and a public REIT is access to your money. With a public REIT, you can sell your shares and cash out anytime. EquityMultiple uses private placement investments that do not allow you to cash out early. You must wait until the end of the lock-up period or qualify for a redemption period to cash out. Another difference is that any investor can use a public REIT. Only accredited investors can use EquityMultiple.

What Kinds of Offerings Can You Expect on EquityMultiple?

You can expect a variety of investment offerings in commercial real estate on EquityMultiple. These include short-term debt and preferred equity investments, funds and portfolios buying multiple properties simultaneously, and long-term equity investments into specific properties. EquityMultiple only focuses on real estate offerings. It does not offer other types of alternative investments.

Is EquityMultiple a Good Investment?

EquityMultiple can be a good investment, but it depends on the success of your real estate portfolio selection. The EquityMultiple Ascent Income Fund has a historical distribution rate of 13.1%.2 The long-term equity investments have target internal rates of return (IRRs) of 18% or more, which is considerably better than the S&P 500 average return.1 However, these investments lock up your money until the end of the term, which can last five to seven years. In addition, your EquityMultiple performance and returns are not guaranteed. If the real estate project does not do well, you might not earn a profit and could even lose your contribution. 

How We Review Real Estate Crowdfunding Platforms

To evaluate and review real estate crowdfunding platforms, Investopedia’s team of researchers, data collectors, and industry experts spent nearly two months conducting in-depth industry research, company survey data collection, and hands-on evaluations of 19 companies. We grouped the 38 criteria that we collected, like investment selection and minimums, holding periods, and curated portfolios, into eight categories. We then scored these criteria and weighted the categories to determine which real estate crowdfunding platforms are best for both accredited and non-accredited investors:

• Fees: 15%
• Account Services: 15%
• Investment Selection: 15%
• Liquidity: 12.5% 
• Transparency: 12.5%
• Sectors and Domains: 12.5%
• Customer Support and Usability: 10%
• Educational Offerings: 7.5%

Through this all-encompassing data collection and review process, Investopedia has provided you with an unbiased and thorough review of real estate crowdfunding platforms. Read our full process for more information on how we review real estate crowdfunding platforms.