Getting about eight million euros in less than an hour to build 38 floors in an industrial building in Torrelodones (Madrid) without going through the bank seems unlikely. But there are formulas that allow financing real estate projects outside of traditional circuits. Real estate crowdlending allows small savers, family offices and large investors to participate in collective loans aimed at financing real estate projects. Focusing on the first, anyone who has a few savings – from 100 euros – can invest in brick without buying a home. Although that minimum amount depends on the platform. For example, in Hausera there are 100 euros, but in Civislend you have to invest from 250 euros and in Sego Estate, vertical of the Segofinance retail investment platform, 500 euros are required to participate. The average amount per investor is usually moved between 3,000 and 7,000 euros. «The key is that each person can adapt their ticket according to their risk profile and their financial objectives,» says Javier Villaseca, CEO of Segofinance. The formula – a variant of crowdfunding (collective financing in general), but in the form of participatory loans with return – is born and expands in response to the need for many small savers to access the real estate sector “without the need to provide large sums of money or manage the real estate, while allowing promoters to have agile financing roads and less dependent on banking Gonzalo, one of the CEOs of Hausera together with Fran Sánchez. This start-up carries out the Torrelodones project, in which the planned profitability is 15% in 15 months. This profitability is not fixed or safe and depends in any case on the company and the concrete project in which the saver decides to invest. Not all platforms opt for the same type of product. Hausera, for example, only finances rehabilitation from disuse real estate, while Club Funding, crowdfunding platform that operates in Spain since 2023, does not invest in already built real estate assets, but in construction projects, mainly of the residential segment (80%), but also offices and hotels. The way to participate in this market is simple. The user is registered on the platforms and chooses the project (residential, hotel, luxury …) in which he wants to invest in factors such as the estimated profitability, the deadline and the location. Once the project is finished, which usually has a duration of between 12 and 24 months, the investor receives the capital invested plus the interests obtained in the operation. In Civislend they ensure that the average profitability is 14.52% within an average period of 15 months, which is equivalent to an average annual profitability of 11.62%. In Hausera they say that the average annual profitability of the projects already completed to date is 17%. And in Sego Real Estate moves between 8% and 15% per year. Payments can be monthly, quarterly or expiration, depending on the loan model. In Club Funding, investments can be in debt or in equity (capital). In most cases, the platform pays interest monthly, with annual profitability ranging between 8% and 15%. Like any other investment, it is not exempt from risks. One is the purely real estate. That is, «that the rehabilitated asset is not able to sell for the minimum amount required for investors to obtain the projected profitability or that said sale does not occur within the marked period,» explains Hausera's partner, which projects to exceed 50 million financed in 2025. Another is the impairment or delay in the return by the promoter. «That is why we thoroughly analyze each project, we demand real guarantees (such as mortgages or guarantees) and a solid financial structure,» adds Villaseca. It is important that investors diversify and do not invest more than they are willing to assume. In addition, there is a risk associated with the solvency and experience of the platform that manages the investment. On the other hand, the main strength of the model is that the investment is backed by a tangible asset: the property itself, which acts as a collateral, says Íñigo Torroba, CEO of Civislend, which accumulates more than 110 projects financed to date and has mobilized more than 200 million euros.
Regulated by CNMV
Some platforms have disappeared or have been absorbed in recent years, while others have consolidated. In Spain there are 25 regulated companies and many others that are not or are in the process of obtaining the license. The entity that is responsible for such regulation is the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). «The regulation of the sector has been harmonized at European level. In November 2023, the transitory period ended so that national participatory financing entities adapt to the European Regulation. From that moment, they can only operate in the EU the platforms that have been authorized as suppliers of participatory financing services (PSFP) in accordance with the European regulations,» emphasizes the regulatory body. Collective financing has passed in a few years of being an alternative solution to becoming a habitual way to move forward real estate promotions that, otherwise, would be blocked. «The sector has grown significantly in recent years, both in number of investors and in funded volume,» says the founder of Sergo Real Estate, who hopes to grow above 100% this year. When the brick is doing well, crowdlending is best and gains weight, since many promoters look for agile and flexible alternatives to finance their projects. «Real estate investment has recovered prominence after years of uncertainty, and this has promoted crowdlending growth as an alternative way to finance profitable projects and high added value,» says Villaseca. Only in the first quarter of 2025, the real estate crowdlending channeled more than 70 million euros in Spain, doubling the volume with respect to the same period of the previous year, and closed 2024 with 396 million financed and more than 13,000 new investors only in December. Even so, it remains far from the level of other more mature markets such as the United States, where 85 % of alternative financing is already channeled through crowdlending, compared to only 15 % that comes from traditional banking. In our country, the opposite happens, remember Torroba.
