知名金融行业方向市场研究与咨询公司Massolutions报告称，各类众筹平台在2015年共筹集超过344亿美元资金；预计2017年将超过风险资本公司筹集金额数。而且报告还发现，众筹平台的用户似乎热衷在地产购买与开发上进行小笔投资。

商业地产所有者和地产开放商也显示了对众筹的热情，他们认为利用这类平台可以有效地宣传他们的项目。能够接触到更多的潜在投资者当然是地产界认识最喜欢的。

房地产众筹仍是新起的金融和投资领域，经济学家和金融分析师都密切关注着潜在趋势。以下是其中的三个趋势：

外国投资者对美国地产的兴趣

迈阿密沙滩上的巴西人、纽约的俄罗斯人和底特律的中国人：这是自2002年以来涌入美国主要地产市场的三大国际买家。

不同的政治和金融环境下，外国投资者对于美国地产市场的投资趋势有所不同。2005-2007年房地产市场泡沫最严重时期，外国投资者比较谨慎。2008年市场崩溃后，外国买家提着一箱箱的现金争相购买价值大跌的房产。

到2014年，因为地产升值速度减缓、中国买家审查收紧和由于政治制裁对俄罗斯买家限制加大，外国投资者对于美国地产的热情退温。现在美国地产试产逐渐上升且经济开始复苏，有意向的外国投资者对于地产众筹十分有兴趣，认为后者降低了投资门槛并提供了更多的选择。

积极的监管环境

奥巴马政府2012年推出的《JOBS法案》中特别提到了众筹，称其是适合发行证券和其他贷款和股票工具的金融平台。自《JOBS法案》通过之后，联邦和各州金融管理者一直在制定法律和规则来管理众筹平台。这方面的立法速度不算快；但分析人士认为未来几年速度会上升因为大多数监管者对众筹都持积极态度。

千禧一代投资方式

这是地产众筹行业中正在发展的最重要的一个趋势。千禧一代的年轻投资者们对于使用互联网和移动科技的金融平台十分感兴趣。比如他们更喜欢在手机应用上购买家庭保险而不是和一个中间商坐下来谈，而且他们想要直接在手机上就能查看保险条款并获得服务。几乎所有的众筹平台都有移动应用，它们在千禧一代中十分受欢迎。

总之，科技、监管、金融环境、正在发生的世代交替都是让地产众筹行业发展成为真正的投资平台被接受的因素。就像几十年前地产投资信托震动了投资市场一般，地产众筹将是这个十年最重要的经济发展之一。

According to Massolutions, a renowned market research and advisory firm focusing on the financial industry, crowdfunding platforms across all sectors raised more than $34.4 billion during the year 2015; this figure is expected to rise higher than what venture capital firms will be able to raise in 2017.

One interesting aspect of the Massolutions report is related to the real estate industry as users of crowdfunding platforms seem to be very keen on the idea of taking fractional investment positions on property acquisition and development.

Commercial property owners and real estate developers have also shown considerable enthusiasm for crowdfunding, which they consider to be an efficient platform that can substantially increase the visibility of their projects. Naturally, the prospect of reaching out more potential investors is what real estate professionals like the most.

Since real estate crowdfunding is still a nascent field of finance and investment, economists and financial analysts are paying close attention to emerging trends, here’s a brief look at three of these trends:

Foreign Interest in American Real Estate

Brazilians in Miami Beach, Russians in New York and Chinese in Detroit: these are the most prominent nationalities of foreign buyers who have been pouring into key real estate markets across the United States since 2002.

Trends in foreign investment in American real estate tend to vary according to the political and financial climate. At the height of the housing market bubble from 2005 to 2007, foreign buyers were somewhat cautious with their acquisitions. After the market crashed in 2008, foreign buyers arrived with suitcases full of cash to take advantage of distressed properties that could be acquired at bargain prices.

By 2014, foreign interest in U.S. real estate had somewhat subsided due to the slower rate of value appreciation as well as scrutiny on Chinese buyers and restrictions on Russian investors due to political sanctions. As the American housing market gradually improves and the economy recovers, prospective foreign investors are excited at the potential of real estate crowdfunding, which can lower investment barriers and offer a greater diversity of opportunities.

A Positive Regulatory Climate

When the Obama administration enacted the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act in 2012, crowdfunding was specifically mentioned as a financial platform that could be suitable for the issuance of securities and other debt and equity instruments. Since the passing of the JOBS Act, financial regulators at the state and federal levels have been introducing legislation and rules to authorize and govern crowdfunding. The lawmaking pace has been gradual in this respect; however, analysts are expecting that this pace will pick up considerably over the next few years because most legislators are very positive about crowdfunding.

Millennial Investment Styles

This is the most important trend developing in the world of real estate crowdfunding. Younger investors who are members of the Millennial Generation are very interested in financial platforms that take advantage of internet and mobile technology. Home insurance, for example, is something that Millennials prefer to obtain from a mobile app instead of sitting down with a broker, and they want to be able to check on their policies and obtain customer service right from their smartphones. Since virtually all crowdfunding platforms have mobile apps, they have proven to be very popular among Millennials.

In the end, a combination of technology, regulation, financial climate, and the ongoing generational shift are all factors contributing to the advancement and acceptance of real estate crowdfunding as a bona fide investment platform. Just like real estate investment trusts (REITs) shook the investment marketplace decades ago when they entered Wall Street, real estate crowdfunding is poised to become one of the most important economic developments of this decade.

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