Fundrise Returns: My Results After 4 Years (Updated for 2023) (2024)

Today’s investors have more choices and options than ever, especially regarding real estate investments. With the rise in popularity of real estate crowdfunding, anyone can invest in income-generating properties.

Fundrise is one of the most popular platforms for passive real estate investing. I began investing with Fundrise more than four years ago to diversify my portfolio. In this article, I’ll share my Fundrise returns so you can see a real-world scenario and the actual performance for one investor.

On their website, you can find details about Fundrise’s historical performance (more about that later in the article). But it’s important to note that each investor’s experience and results will vary. Fundrise offers a few different plans or portfolios based on your goals. Additionally, each investor’s portfolio will differ because of the timing of when they invested.

As you look at historical returns, whether you’re looking at overall averages or the results of a particular investor, keep that in mind. Your results are likely to vary.

My Fundrise Returns After 4+ Years

I initially invested with Fundrise at the very end of 2018. I chose their long-term core strategy because long-term growth is my priority. Fundrise also offers a core strategy for income generation, which prioritizes dividends over long-term growth, and a balanced approach, which is a blend of the two.

Here are my returns as of April 2023:

• 2019: 6.2%
• 2020: 6.3%
• 2021: 22.2%
• 2022: 5.3%
• 2023 (Q1): -0.10%
• All time: 9.8% (annually)

I’m pleased with the 9.8% annualized rate of return four+ years into the Fundrise investment. Honestly, I was slightly underwhelmed with the 6.2% return the first year. However, since I chose the long-term strategy, Fundrise built my portfolio to maximize long-term results. As a result, those investments weren’t intended to produce considerable gains in the first year.

A few factors contributed to the significant growth in year three (22.2%), including general real estate trends in the U.S. and progress on those long-term investments that Fundrise placed in my portfolio. At first glance, 2022 looks like a disappointing year, with a return of only 5.3%. However, that return is excellent compared to the stock market and public REITs during the same period.

In 2022, my Fundrise portfolio gained more than 5% while the S&P 500 was down by more than 18%, and public REITs were down by more than 25%.

The first quarter of 2023 saw my Fundrise balance decline for the first time. The -0.10% return on investment is a bit disappointing, but I’m still happy with the overall results.

I’m interested to see what happens in the future, but the performance through four+ years has been very solid, in my opinion.

For more details, please read our Fundrise Review.

Fundrise Average Returns Across All Portfolios

If you’re researching Fundrise returns, you’re probably looking to find the average historical returns for this crowdfunding platform. While some numbers are available, it’s critical to note that they’re averages across a wide range of different investors and portfolios.

Fundrise aims to be a long-term investment. Because of this approach, the performance may be slow for the first few years before picking up. But, generally, investors who have been with Fundrise longer will earn better returns than those who just started investing because they’ll have more mature properties in their portfolios. Fundrise provides an excellent explanation of this in the article Understanding Fundrise Historical Returns, which I’d encourage every potential investor to read.

If you look at my personal returns compared to Fundrise average returns, mine have been above and below the average Fundrise returns at different times.

Fundrise provides overall averages across all investors using their platform. Remember that these numbers reflect the average of all Fundrise investors, and individual results will vary.

Here’s the historical Fundrise performance compared to public REITs and the stock market. These numbers are from Fundrise’s track record page, which you can check for updated numbers.

As you can see, since 2017, Fundrise returns by year have been much steadier than public REITs and the S&P 500.

Since 2017, Fundrise has produced 24 quarters with positive growth and only one quarter in the negatives. The worst quarter for Fundrise was -3.32%. Compare that to the worst quarter for public REITs (-25.42%) and the worst quarter for the S&P 500 (-19.60%), and it’s easy to see that Fundrise has been the more stable investment in recent years.

Remember that past performance does not necessarily reflect future performance, which is true of all investments.

Fundrise Plans and Portfolios

• Starter – The most straightforward way to invest in real estate, the starter portfolio requires a minimum investment of only $10.
• Basic – Invest at least $1,000 to access additional features like investor goals and the ability to invest in IRAs.
• Long-Term Core Strategy – Invest at least $5,000, and Fundrise will set up your portfolio to prioritize long-term returns.
• Income Core Strategy – Invest at least $5,000, and Fundrise will help maximize your portfolio’s dividends.
• Balanced Core Strategy – Invest at least $5,000 and get a blend of long-term and income strategies.

You can learn more about these strategies at Fundrise’s website.

My Experience with Fundrise

So far, this article has focused on returns, but I’d also like to share my overall thoughts after four+ years of real estate investing with Fundrise. So here are some of the crucial points.

• Stability – The stock market has seen huge ups and downs during the past four years. Meanwhile, my real estate investment with Fundrise has been relatively calm and stable.
• Ease of Use – I love Funrdise’s platform. The user dashboard is well-designed and extremely easy to use.
• Communication – Fundrise does an outstanding job of communicating with investors. They regularly send emails with updates on specific properties within my portfolio.
• Customization – I like being able to customize my portfolio according to my own goals and preferences. For now, I have a long-term approach. But I like that Fundrise also offers a core strategy for maximizing dividends. Investors can also flip a switch in their settings to have Fundrise dividends reinvested or paid out as cash.
• Diversification – My Fundrise portfolio includes many properties throughout the United States and many different types of properties. The screenshot below shows the number of properties in my portfolio. Of course, I own a very small percentage of each property, but the diversification helps to minimize risk.

Fundrise vs. Other Real Estate Investments

There are many real estate crowdfunding platforms. Fundrise is one of the most popular options, partly because it’s accessible to all investors, while many other platforms are only open to accredited investors.

If you’re comparing platforms, it’s essential to understand that each platform has it’s own unique approach. For example, CrowdStreet, EquityMultiple, and Cadre all have produced historical returns for investors that are higher than Fundrise’s average returns. However, those platforms are only for accredited investors, making them inaccessible to the average investor.

Fundrise takes a slightly more conservative approach, and that’s reflected in the returns. If you’re an accredited investor willing to accept higher risk and want to maximize your potential returns, you may want to consider one of the other platforms. But Fundrise caters to a different type of investor.

For disclosure, I began investing with CrowdStreet and EquityMultiple in 2022, and I’m happy with both of those platforms as well.

We have some detailed articles that compare Fundrise to specific platforms. Please see:

• Fundrise vs. RealtyMogul
• Fundrise vs. Streitwise
• Fundrise vs. CrowdStreet
• Fundrise vs. DiversyFund
• Fundrise vs. Arrived

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts on Funrise Returns

Overall, I’ve been pleased with myFundrisereturns. Additionally, I’ve also had a good experience using their platform. Based on my experience, I expect to add more to my investment as I continue to build a diversified portfolio.

I’ve written this article to share my personal experience with Fundrise, but it should not be considered investment advice. Be sure to do your due diligence before deciding to invest.

Vital Dollar is an affiliate of Fundrise. If you invest with Fundrise through our affiliate link, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you.