A legal approach to real estate crowdfunding platforms

Abstract

In the context of a financial and housing crisis, accompanied by credit constraints, a new alternative has recently emerged for those wanting to invest in real estate markets: real estate crowdfunding. Crowdfunding, which was originally intended to fund social projects through donations or loans from a large pool of individuals via Internet platforms, has developed into a more sophisticated method of financing. This is the case of real estate crowdfunding, a type of equity crowdfunding that aims to make housing investment available to retail investors, although several hazards have been detected that make these investments less secure. This paper addresses these hazards, analyses the information provided by five Spanish crowdfunding platforms to retail investors and determines whether or not real estate crowdfunding platforms in Spain, as a sharing economy mechanism, are making a contribution to the development of the housing market.