Large real estate equity and debt transactions are traditionally funded by large institutions such as REITs and life insurance companies investing in companies or joint ventures with only one or two investors. At the other end of the scale, historically a local real estate developer or investor might attract funds from a handful of friends and family members, using a limited partnership structure or "sidecars."

Crowdfunding uses the broad reach of the internet to attract small individual investments from a wide range of investors, many of whom have never had access to direct real estate investments because of the large individual commitments required.