The best real estate crowdfunding platforms in the UAE for 2023

This guide helps users find the best real estate crowdfunding platforms in the UAE. Real estate crowdfunding is a popular way for UAE retail investors to gain access to real estate without buying or managing properties directly. It is a great investment for portfolio diversification, generating steady income and passive earnings. With the increasing number of services offering access to real estate crowdfunding, it can be difficult to choose a platform that fits the goals and needs of investors. Avoiding individual research and comparison of crowdfunding providers increases the risk of choosing an unreliable platform with high fees, low transparency, high minimum investment requirements and limited analysis. This guide evaluates 24 real estate crowdfunding platforms accepting UAE-based clients. To help users make an informed decision and find the ideal options for their financial goals, the best real estate crowdfunding platforms in the UAE are ranked, reviewed and compared based on equity investment, commissions, minimum investment, average annual returns, number of users, reinvestment opportunities and accreditation requirements.

Eureeca is the best for equity investments

Eureeca is an equity crowdfunding platform operating in the Middle East, the US and Europe. It was founded in 2013 by Sam Kawasmi and Chris Thomas. The platform provides accredited investors with access to a wide range of upcoming public offering (IPO) companies and startups from all sectors. Eureeca ensures the properties listed on their website are highly reputable through an extensive vetting process. Third-party vendors hired by the platform verify various criteria including company inclusion, operating history and financial standing. Eureeca has an excellent reputation among investors across the UAE and the wider GCC region. It is featured on a host of news resources including Gulfnews, Zawya and Creative Zone. To start investing, Eureeca users must register and fund an account. There is no minimum investment required to get started. Eureeca charges a management fee of 7.25% on profits earned.

Eureeca Features:

• No minimum investment
• A wide range of opportunities to invest in all types of small and medium-sized businesses
• Thorough inspections of all properties listed on the website
• Low competitive commissions of 7.25% of profits earned (no service fees)
• Excellent reputation among investors in the UAE and wider Gulf region (featured on sites such as Golfnews, Zawya and Creative Zone)

Smart Crowd is the best for low minimum deposit requirements

Smart Crowd is a real estate crowdfunding platform regulated by the DFSA. The platform was founded in 2018 by Siddiq Farid and Musfiq Ahmed. It is the world's first fully regulated digital platform for real estate investments in the MENA region. Smart Crowd searches for investment properties in Dubai using a 100-point proprietary screening tool. Properties that pass the screening are listed on their website. Smart Crowd pays investors the rental income generated through the platform directly to their digital wallets. Earned rental income can be automatically reinvested or withdrawn at any time. When the property is sold, Smart Crowd investors have the option to sell their shares to other investors or receive a portion of the exit value, in proportion to their investment. Smart Crowd charges a 4% transaction fee when real estate purchases are finalized. The minimum investment is $140 (500 UAE dirhams). Smart Crowd has an excellent reputation among users. They have a 4.5/5 rating on TrustPilot and are highly recommended by investors on several investment forums and websites.

Smart Crowd features:

• Low minimum investment requirements starting from 140 US dollars (500 UAE dirhams).
• A wide range of investment opportunities in real estate, including residential and commercial properties.
• A thorough 100-point internal selection process
• Competitive commissions of 4% upon completion of the property acquisition.
• Excellent reputation among investors with a rating of 4.5/5 on TrustPilot

Equity Multiple is the best for portfolio diversification.

Equity Multiple is a real estate crowdfunding platform based in the USA. It was founded in 2015 by Charles Clinton and Marius Suylsen. Equity Multiple offers historical average annual returns of 17%.

Features of Equity Multiple:

• The minimum investment is $5,000.
• A wide selection of companies and real estate for investment (small and medium-sized businesses, residential and commercial properties).
• Thorough checks of all investments
• Excellent reputation among investors (NerdWallet, InvestorJunkie, BusinessInsider)
• Competitive commissions of 10% on all profits and a 0.5% service fee on each invested amount.

Arrived Homes is the best for minimal investments.

Arrived Homes is a real estate investment platform regulated by the SEC. The platform was founded in 2019 by Ryan Frazer and Spencer Rascoff and is backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos. Arrived Homes accepts non-accredited (ordinary) investors from the UAE. The minimum required investment is $100 (360 AED). The platform features over $64 million worth of real estate across 176 projects. Arrived Homes provides users with a wide range of information about the listed projects, including location, photos, tenant status, dates, and dividend percentages, as well as complete data on home prices and trends from Zillow. The Arrived Homes platform allows users to invest in real estate projects in the form of shares. Dividends on these shares range from 3.2% to 7.2% annually. If the properties are sold, users will also receive a portion of the appreciation. Arrived Homes charges users a one-time search fee of 1% annually and management fees for maintaining the properties under management. Property owners listing their properties on the platform pay a commission to the agent. Arrived Homes has a good reputation among real estate investors. They have received excellent ratings and reviews from several rating platforms, including FinaceBuzz, MoneyCrashers, and AssetScholar. One of the main reasons the platform is so popular among investors is that it is founded by experienced industry participants and backed by Jeff Bezos.

Features of Arrived Homes:

• Minimum investment starting from 100 dollars (360 UAE dirhams)
• Access to traditional residential real estate and dividends based on the appreciation of shares in these projects.
• Thorough review including complete data on home prices and market trends from Zillow.
• A competitive one-time search fee of 1%
• A good reputation among real estate investors, supported by well-known billionaires like Jeff Bezos.

Realty Mogul is the best for non-accredited investors.

Realty Mogul is a crowdfunding and investment platform based in the USA. The platform was founded in 2013 by Jillien Helman. Realty Mogul has raised over $70 million in investments for real estate projects. They accept (non-accredited) investors. The minimum investment is $5,000. The average return on investments in Realty Mogul's real estate is 5.78% per year for income REITs and 4.5% per year for growth REITs. Realty Mogul conducts thorough due diligence on all deals listed on the platform. They have a specialized asset management team that conducts in-depth research and verifies that all listed properties meet the specified criteria. Realty Mogul charges a fee...