Buying a house online at Roofstock is the real estate investment of Millennials

For most of the Millennial, 25-40 year olds today, buy a house it is not an option, especially if they live in big cities. But this does not mean that they are cut off from the real estate market: thanks to platforms like Roofstock they can buy real estate in places more convenient than those they live in, without moving from the sofa.

Currently available only in the United States, this derivative of recent financial technologies (technofinance, in jargon, or fintech) is nothing but a online platform for buying and selling real estate in emerging markets medium-sized throughout the United States, designed with an interface similar to that of a video game, closer to a service for the purchase of shares than material objects such as a house.

"What we've done is break down geographical barriers, so you don't have to own the place you live in," said Roofstock CEO Gary Beasley. "The Millennials (are) buying more houses on the site and let us manage them for them, so that we can actually own the properties without living there. "

Founded in 2015, Roofstock managed over $ 1.6 billion in transactions, with investors increasing by 126% in 2018, which grew even faster in the first half of 2019.

The most interesting aspect is that 75% of the people who invest with Roofstock are at their own first real estate purchase, and for the most part they are users who otherwise would have been excluded from this sector: thanks to the platform who intends to invest in brick can compare properties across the country by finding the most suitable one, regardless of where they live.

"Historically 70% of all rental homes are an hour from where the owner lives," explains Beasley. "We are turning it upside down: the technology and the platform have broken down the geographical barriers".

"The real estate sector can be a powerful way to create wealth, but it is still not a mainstream choice for investors. Roofstock is leveling the playing field, minimizing the hassles of traditional real estate and favoring greater accessibility ”, says the founder of the platform.

All just a click away: just enter the site and choose a property to view the exact address, as well as a myriad of data such as the results of an expert's inspection, information on the payment of the current rent and on tenants and a calculation of the quality of the neighborhood, from the proximity of schools to the average income of neighbors (virtual).

And the tenants? According to its founder, the system would also be advantageous for them, who instead of having to deal with owners unprepared for managing a property, can interface with professionals, who do their job in the best way.

Are we really faced with the solution to the problem of ownership or the umpteenth attempt to build a real estate bubble speculating on a sector in crisis and on a new generation struggling with the economic imbalance?