Developer/Investor Matchmaker Identifies $800M in Financing in One Month

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York—EquityInterface.com, a Website that introduces real estate developers and syndicators to individuals and private equity companies looking for investment opportunities, has identified $800 million in equity financing in the past month, according to the company.Originally launched as a beta site in 2008 and relaunched this January, Equity Interface is a listing service where developers can list deals that require equity and partnerships, and investors can log on and find opportunities, Nikolas Kron (pictured), founder of EquityInterface.com, tells MHN. “This is more necessary now than ever before. Banks aren’t lending to the degree they were, and their loan-to-values are much lower,” Kron explains. “Developers can’t do deals without funding. Investors can’t get returns without investments. They need to find deals, and this is a source of deal flow.”Whereas developers can list the deals they are looking to get financed, investors can search opportunities by a number of criteria, including financial metrics, experience of the developer, financing needed for the project and geography.Kron compares Equity Interface to a matchmaking service. “We provide a value to a community that so desperately needs to find each other,” he says. “Investors are nervous, and developers are anxious to find funding. The investors, to their credit, say they are open to looking at deals, but they have to make sense.”Kron reports that there is currently $4 billion of equity available for developers registered on the site. He says there is $2.8 billion available for existing multi-housing projects, while $2.35 billion is available for new multifamily developments.In the last four months, the site has seen 30 deals listed on the database, about a dozen of which are live. However, Kron points out that Equity Interface is strictly a listing site that does not make recommendations and does not track matched deals, though he does contend that match-ups have occurred.In addition to the Website, Equity Interface recently completed its first members-only investor/developer conference call. These calls, which Kron says will take place every two weeks, allow developers to present their projects to prospective investors. The presentations include sponsor experience, deal overview, local market conditions, investment required, use of funds, expected return on investment, exit strategy and extraordinary factors and risks. Developers provide their contact information for investors to contact them and a question-and-answer session allows interested parties to ask for additional details.