A Conversation with Sofia Gancedo – Bricksave COO

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This week Sofia, COO of Bricksave, is sharing her insights on real estate crowdfunding and how technology is highly revolutionizing the real estate investment industry.

With fifteen years’ experience working with internet start-ups that focus on real estate and online tech, Sofia has been at the forefront of the new wave of technologies designed to improve lives worldwide. She was co-founder of DineroMail, Latin America’s largest payment platform, which was eventually sold to Naspers, one of the world’s most prominent multinational media corporations. Having also worked for the Argentinian property developing Costantini family, Sofia has built a career on in-depth knowledge of the Latin American real estate market; she also uses her expertise in the tech world to combine the two and provide new opportunities for investors across Latin America.

What makes Real Estate Crowdfunding so revolutionary?

The fact that it allows the general public to access investments that were previously limited to a small number of individuals at a low transaction cost and with no barriers of entry. This is a major shift in the way the investment world works – success in investing (especially in real estate) used to be determined by a) how much capital you had available to invest, b) whether or not you had access to the right market information, and c) an existing relationship with a large financial intermediary that could carry out the investment. Real Estate Crowdfunding eliminates the need for all of these.

As an expert in both tech and real estate, what impact is Real Estate Crowdfunding going to have on these industries?

Technology is allowing the real estate market to be financed in ways that were unthought of a few years ago; this leads to growth in the sector and the economy at large. Since the technology industry is experiencing a boom like no other, it is the real estate industry (rather than the tech industry) that will benefit most from Real Estate Crowdfunding. Now that investing is so much easier and quicker than before, the property investment sector is likely to become more of a feature in normal people’s lives; this will ultimately lead to more funds available and therefore more development and growth.

Why do you think Real Estate Crowdfunding is a good option for Latin Americans?

Latin Americans are used to saving in bricks and mortar due to economic fluctuations and currency instability. Real Estate Crowdfunding is a vehicle that allows the ordinary citizen's savings to be converted into real assets investments. The remote access Real Estate Crowdfunding provides is also extremely beneficial to Latin Americans because they can now easily invest abroad in places that have been historically confirmed as lucrative investment options.

Is there anything more that can be done to further promote technologies such as these in Latin America?

Legislation is the key: a properly regulated market offers a safe environment for the industry to grow exponentially. We have been working very closely with the Argentine government, Ministry of Finance and Comision Nacional de Valores,  to push forwards legislating Real Estate Crowdfunding in Argentina and have seen significant advances with the Law for Equity Crowdfunding for Real Estate. Hopefully this process will be completed very soon  – many nations are already putting measures into place to ensure that the equity crowdfunding sector is based on trust and transparency. This will help encourage more Latin Americans to take part in investment, and ultimately affirm the overall ethos of Real Estate Crowdfunding: more opportunities for more investors.