Real estate crowd funding platform reports exit with 75% returns

 

SmartCrowd, the MENA region's first regulated crowdfunding platform for real estate investments, is celebrating a record-breaking exit with a 75% total return, or 25% on an annual basis, for investors in a Dubai Marina studio.

This marks SmartCrowd’s 22nd property exit, signifying their consistent track record. The unit, a studio in Studio One, Dubai Marina, was purchased by 56 investors in February 2021, one year into the COVID pandemic for AED 500,000 and sold in February 2024 for AED870,000 - resulting in a nearly 50% net capital appreciation.

Over the three-year period, the property generated significant rental income to its investors of AED149,966, or almost 27%, demonstrating the success of the investment strategy.

Developed by Select Group, the studio catered to holidaymakers, as the unit was in an appealing Marina location with great amenities nearby. Despite initial challenges such as a less desirable view, this carefully chosen property investment in Dubai Marina yielded phenomenal returns. SmartCrowd’s data-driven strategy focused on maximising short-term income while anticipating long-term appreciation, proving successful with this remarkable outcome of a 75% total return on investment.

SmartCrowd, registered with the DIFC and regulated by the DFSA, is the MENA region’s pioneering real estate platform on a mission to democratise access to market-beating investment opportunities for every investor.

An all-digital platform, SmartCrowd offers diversification opportunities through crowdfunding, empowering individuals to invest in real estate starting from just AED500, earn monthly rental income, benefit from capital gains upon exit (as demonstrated in this sale), and leverage the power of compounding by reinvesting their earnings.

The real estate industry remains a tangible and stable asset class worldwide. SmartCrowd, with its innovative real estate crowdfunding platform, is currently far outperforming the general real estate market in the UAE and internationally.

SmartCrowd has exited 22 properties so far with an average holding period of 33 months, returned AED 5.37million net total profits and an average ROI of 40%.

SmartCrowd has crowdfunded 120 properties on its platform worth over AED 139 million, distributed nearly AED 10 million in rental income, and enjoys a base of 100K+ users that continues to grow rapidly.

SmartCrowd Co-founders Siddiq Farid, and Musfique Ahmed, along with the Board of Directors, recently appointed Riz Ahmed as CEO, who is currently heading day-to-day operations. Ahmed, who is the former group CFO & COO of GEMS Education, founder of EqualEd, and an ex-PWC Chartered Accountant.