Australia's property sector is welcoming a new and positive concept of "sharing economy" through crowdfunding which allows young investors and those with limited cash to become a bigger part of the market, ABC Australia reports.
In the concept of crowdfunding, small investors come together in order to make a big project or development possible. This is the same concept that Uber used for their successful tap into the taxi industry, as well as Airbnb in overhauling the hotel sector.
CoAssets, a Singaporean-based crowdfunding platform, has its eyes on Australian real estate as the next big thing.
Getty Goh, CoAssets' chief executive had already been in talks with several companies in Perth for a possible expansion of their company in Australia and their goal of an inclusive market which gives chances to smaller and younger investors.
"We are really a platform that allows people to put their property deals on the site and reach out to funders," he said.
"Businesses that have a lot of potential can put themselves on the site and allow funders to put in for as little as $1,000."
For every project, CoAssets is looking to crowdsource from as little as $1 to as high as $5 million.
To date, the company was able to come up with $39 million for various projects all across the globe, including one in Sydney.
The said project needed $1.5 million dollars of funds and with the help of CoAssets, the fund was raised just within an hour with most of the investors coming from Singapore and chipping in between $100,000 to $350,000.
CoAssets is not yet licensed by the Australian Financial Services which is the only thing that comes between the company and funding from Australian retail investors.
"We will get the licence sometime next year, and we believe with that licence it will open up new opportunities," Mr Goh said.
"At the juncture, yes, some of the people who are looking to crowd-fund for their homes, this could be a way for them to do it."
