Smart Crowd, the innovative new digital real estate investment platform, is celebrating completing its second investment opportunity in just three days. Via crowdfunding, the Dubai-headquartered company offers the chance for those without high wealth to buy and share investments in property, as well as the catering to wealthier more seasoned investors.

Smart Crowd Co-Founder Siddiq Farid says: “We offered the chance to invest in the purchase of a studio in Jumeirah Lake Towers, one of Dubai’s most residentially-dense and popular communities. Within three days, we had achieved the investment level required, which is thrilling, and underlines the need for our visionary company and its new investment philosophy.”

Smart Crowd’s highly experienced team of real estate experts negotiated a purchase price 26% below the market value of a similar property and 10% below the market value per an independent RICS certified valuator. “On behalf of all our existing and potential investors, we negotiate hard, and we negotiate well. A studio such as this in a prime rental area like JLT will always offer a desirable living space to Dubai’s ever-growing population of young urban professionals,” adds joint company co-founder, Abdul Kadir Faizal.

Only eight investors were required to achieve the purchase price – investing between AED10,000 and 125,000 each in the property. Reflecting the desirable nature of the crowdfunding concept, the nationalities investing include those from Pakistan, Ireland and the UK. One of the investors has successfully invested in Smart Crowd’s first investment property, in the up and coming suburban neighbourhood of Remraan, and is already receiving dividends on that property. This allowed him to top up his dividends a little bit and buy into this second investment property to start building his real estate portfolio.

“We actually had to turn potential investors away,” reveals Faizal. “The seller is happy, making an immediate sale and a decent return, and the buyers are delighted, coming into the market at such an attractive pricing point. We are seeing an 11% gross yield already, and expect a rent return of 9%. Even if rents reduce, it’s still a healthy return for investors.”

Smart Crowd provides the opportunity to buy and sell shares in properties, reducing the barriers to entry to low-middle income households to build financial assets and generate investment income. Unlike current real estate investment vehicles, Smart Crowd provides users with active management of their shares, transparency on what properties they are actually investing in, low costs of investment and very low minimum investment levels (AED 5,000).