ORANGE COUNTY, CA—Still in its early innings, crowdfunding is catching on fast as a form offundraising for commercial real estatetransactions, but how much progress has it really made in the pastyear or so, and where is it heading? GlobeSt.com spoke exclusivelywith Joe Elias, co-founder and COO ofLoquidity.com; Dan Miller,co-founder and president of Fundrise; JuddHollas, CEO of EquityNet; AdamChapnick, principal of Asset Avenue;Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principalof Palisades Capital Realty Advisors Inc.;Gary Tenzer, principal and managing director atGeorge Smith Partners; RyanSmith, director of We Are Crowdfunding;and Jilliene Helman, CEO of RealtyMogul, about how far it's come. Also, stay tuned for anupcoming feature article in GlobeSt.com's sister publicationReal Estate Forum on the subject ofcrowdfunding, its acceptance as a legitimate source of financingand how it is viewed in relation to traditional avenues offinance.

GlobeSt.com: How muchprogress has CRE crowdfunding made in the last year, and how muchdo you expect it to progress over the comingyear?

Smith: Crowdfunding for real estatehas made enormous progress, and new platforms launch constantly.But the funding completed on these platforms is still negligiblewhen compared to traditional real estatefinancing. Over the next year, institutionalsponsors will continue to take notice and search for a platformthat understands both the real estate and financial-servicesindustries. Unfortunately, and in our opinion, the space will alsobegin to experience the results of poorly vetted deals thatoverpromised and underdelivered. As this occurs, We AreCrowdfunding will continue to direct the industry standards towardwell-vetted, institutional-quality offerings.