2015 was the year that crowdfunding in real estate investment really took off. Instead of looking to REITs, investors have been increasing banding together in new ways to crack bigger deals and achieve their dreams.

Even though the notion of crowdfunding in real estate is a very new concept, it’s already raised hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2012, according to Sourceable, only about $2 million were involved in real estate crowdfunding. In 2015, it was well over $2 billion. It’s poised to change the industry as we know it.

But how? What has crowdfunding already done for real estate investment? Would does the future look like? What limitations are there?

First, let’s look at crowdfunding so far.