CrowdStreet grabs $800K for its real estate crowdfunding site

Crowdfunding has opened up new funding models for everything from hardware gadgets to philanthropy. So why not real estate?

Oregon-based company CrowdStreet thinks so. And it announced today that it has raised $800,000 in seed funding as it works to grow its portal.

As mentioned, CrowdStreet lets accredited investors crowdfund real estate projects. The site offers prescreened real estate investment opportunities, where investors can manage their offers and track their investments’ performance. Real estate projects can be filtered by various criteria to help investors find opportunities that fit their needs. Investors can invest as little as $10,000 to get started on the site.

For real estate developers, CrowdStreet is an avenue for them to reach a large group of accredited investors, regardless of location or pre-existing relationships. The site also offers tools to help manage the flow, as well as assist with marketing.

CrowdStreet is part of a host of companies that are benefiting from the JOBS Act of 2012. Among other things, the legislation loosened up regulations around crowdfunding, making it a more accessible process for various businesses to use.

This past July, Mainstreet Bloomington became the first publicly available project to be funded on CrowdStreet. Mainstreet Bloomington raised $1.6 million in four weeks for the 66,197-square-foot project.

Green Visor Capital and Seven Peaks Ventures led the round, with additional participation from Portland Seed Fund. Seven Peaks Ventures general partner Dino Vendetti and Green Visor Capital managing partner Simon Yoo are joining the company’s board of directors.

CrowdStreet was founded in 2013 by Michael Taus, Darren Powderly, and Tore C. Steen, and is based in Portland, Ore.