CrowdStreet vs EquityMultiple

Online marketplace connecting accredited investors to CRE sponsor deals

Historically relevant to accredited individual investors seeking direct access to sponsor-led CRE deals, but the 2023 Nightingale fraud scandal is a material fact any prospective user needs to weigh — CrowdStreet has since pivoted away from pure marketplace toward tech/services, which changes what you're actually buying. Sponsors evaluating it as a capital-raise channel, and investors considering it as a deal-sourcing platform, should both do current diligence on the post-scandal governance and deal-vetting process rather than relying on its earlier reputation.

CRE investing platform for accredited investors (equity, debt, preferred equity)

Relevant to accredited individual investors wanting direct access to sponsor-led CRE deals across equity, debt, and preferred equity structures — a reasonably diversified deal-type offering versus single-strategy platforms. As with any crowdfunding-style platform, the real risk sits with sponsor and deal quality, not the platform itself, so investors should underwrite each deal independently rather than trusting platform curation alone; this is not relevant to institutional acquirers or anyone outside the passive-investor audience.