Prior to today, PeerStreet was available by invitation only. During its pre-launch phase, PeerStreet funded more than $35 million in Real Estate loans secured by 78 properties, putting the company on a path to outpace the growth patterns of many of the most successful consumer debt investment platforms. The annualized net yield to investors to date has ranged between 7% and 12%.
“With the launch of PeerStreet, we are democratizing a fantastic asset class – real estate debt – that has always existed, but has been extremely difficult for most investors to access,” said Brew Johnson, CEO and Co-founder of PeerStreet. “PeerStreet is unique in that our loans are sourced from a nationwide network of professional loan originators, which gives us the ability to scale while providing investors access to the highest quality loans.”
COO and Co-founder, Brett Crosby added, “Our proprietary, big-data-driven underwriting process provides an additional level of risk mitigation on top of our loan origination model, while our user interface makes investing simple, intuitive and secure. Unlike platforms that originate their own loans, our professional origination partners know their local market in terms of property values and local economic conditions. This reduces risk for investors on our platform.”
PeerStreet makes investing in real estate backed loans as easy as investing in stocks. The platform offers investors flexibility through loan terms as short as six months and the ability to easily create a portfolio of loans with individual investments starting as low as $1,000. PeerStreet also offers a unique Automated Investing capability that matches investors with loans that meet their investment objectives. There is even a self-directed IRA option which can have tax-deferred benefits.
As part of its public launch, PeerStreet is running a referral program. Users who invite a friend will receive a 1% Yield Bump on their next investment once the friend makes their first investment. The friend will also receive a 1% Yield Bump that will be applied to his or her next investment.
PeerStreet’s executive team also includes:
- Sara Priola, General Counsel. Sara has more than 13 years of real estate law experience and previously worked as a real estate finance attorney at Dechert LLP.
- Alex Perelman, Co-Founder and Head of Technology. Alex previously served in senior development roles at Electronic Arts and Activision. He holds a degree in computer science from UC Berkeley and an MBA from UCLA.
- Brendan Kao, Head of Product Management. Brendan previously served as a product manager at Amazon and Zest Finance. He has a JD from NYU and a Master’s in Computer Science from MIT.
- Brian Channell, Head of User Experience. Prior to joining PeerStreet, Brian spent 10 years at Yahoo managing UX teams.
- Jay Hartman, Head of Finance and Investments. Prior to joining PeerStreet, Jay was a Managing Director at Paladin Realty Partners, where he worked from 1998 to 2014, and served on the firm’s investment committee.
- Marc Heenan, Head of Commercial Originations and Asset Management. Marc previously served as First Vice President for OneWest Bank’s Commercial Real Estate Group and has extensive workout experience.
PeerStreet raised a $6.1 million seed round in the first quarter of this year. The startup has attracted interest from investors across the real estate, technology, finance, law and investment industries, and on both the east and west coast. Notable investors include:
- Dr. Michael Burry, Founder of Scion Capital (and a leading character in The Big Short, played by Christian Bale.)
- Felicis Ventures, led by Wesley Chan
- Rembrandt Venture Partners, led by Scott Irwin
- Guggenheim Partners, led by Rob Brennan and Anand Gajjar
- Chris Warmuth, President of City National Bank
- Adam Nash, President and CEO of Wealthfront
- Doug Holte, President of Irvine Company Office Properties
Additional information about the PeerStreet platform can be found at: https://www.peerstreet.com/howitworks. A launch media kit is available at https://www.peerstreet.com/launch
About PeerStreet
PeerStreet is a marketplace-lending platform for real estate debt. Founded by real estate attorney, Brew Johnson and former Google executive, Brett Crosby, PeerStreet allows investors to easily invest in high-yield real estate loans that were historically difficult to access. PeerStreet’s platform is secure and intuitive with an easy-to-use interface and a wealth of information and tools for every level of investor.
Contacts
Jon Brubaker
On Behalf of PeerStreet
646. 395.6315
press@peerstreet.com
