BrickX is an online platform which provides investors with a new way of investing in Australian real estate. It allows investors to buy and sell ‘Bricks’ (individual interests) in specific properties on the platform, instead of needing to buy properties outright.
Originally launched to enable wholesale investors to acquire an economic interest in individual properties by trading ‘Bricks’, the chief executive of BrickX, Darren Patterson said the platform has now opened its doors to Australian SMSFs due to growing demand.
“Gone are the days of trustees having to scroll through real estate listings, attend auctions, appoint buyers’ agents or spend countless more hours trying to successfully complete a transaction,” he said.
“Through BrickX, people can invest into carefully selected residential properties literally from the comfort of their own home or office.
“We expect that the hassle-free nature of the platform will prove to be an attractive channel for SMSFs to gain exposure to the Australian real estate market.”
According to ATO statistics, 16% of all SMSF assets are holdings of direct Australian property, as at December 2014. Almost 4% of total SMSF assets are holdings of residential property specifically.
Patterson has announced that BrickX will now begin promoting the platform and its benefits to trustees and their advisors through advertising and digital channels.
“The BrickX platform will break down traditional property investment barriers and will help facilitate greater state-to-state investments moving forward.
“I believe that SMSF trustees by their very nature have an appetite for diversity and appreciate freedom around investment choices.
“BrickX has created a new asset class that we believe will satisfy many of the investment desires of SMSF trustees and their advisors across the country.”
Dividends derived from the properties’ yields are distributed to investors on a monthly basis.
Meanwhile, CrowdfundUP is another investment platform that recently hit the market and it offers investors the chance to invest from as little as $100.
On their website they say they will introduce investors to their real estate development partners looking to raise capital for their next real estate project.
Megara, a real estate developer in Perth, will be the first developer in Australia to be involved with this partnership program.
