Real Estate Crowdfunding in Mexico: High Returns, Heavy Regulation, and Tax Inequality

Real estate crowdfunding in Mexico operated with robust regulation under the Fintech Law, but without the same tax incentives as banks and Popular Financial Societies (Sofipos) , which put its investors at a disadvantage, said Alberto Padilla, co-founder and CEO of the real estate crowdfunding platform Briq.mx.

In an interview, the executive argued that the main issue for the sector is not supervision (which he described as strict) but the tax treatment faced by those who invest through these platforms.

“There is a very important inequality which is the tax treatment, or rather, the tax incentives that exist for people to use these platforms,” he noted.

He explained that while banking instruments and brokerage firms have reduced tax withholding, and in the case of Sofipos (Popular Financial Societies) it is even possible not to pay taxes up to a certain amount of annual profits, financial crowdfunding does not have similar benefits.

“That is something we as an industry have been seeking, that level playing field, not for us, but for the users of these types of institutions,” he stated.

Heavy regulation but with legal certainty for the real estate crowdfunding sector

Padilla explained that crowdfunding is an activity regulated by the Law to Regulate Financial Technology Institutions and supervised by the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), with support from the Bank of Mexico, the Ministry of Finance and the Condusef.

“The regulation is quite heavy. We platforms usually complain that we are over-regulated,” he said.

He explained that the authority regulates the real estate crowdfunding platform that intermediates the resources, not the investor or the developer, which implies controls on the handling of money, constant reports, rules on public information and operational continuity mechanisms.

Although he acknowledged that the burden is high for real estate companies that typically have between five and 100 employees, he asserted that this provides greater certainty to investors by being part of the Mexican financial system.

Returns compared to CETES and Fibras

Regarding profitability, he indicated that real estate debt projects currently offer annual rates of between 14 and 15%, compared to levels close to 7% in CETES (Mexican Treasury Certificates).

“The higher the return, the higher the risk,” he warned.

Unlike CETES (where the risk is linked to the country), in real estate crowdfunding the risk depends on the performance of the project and the developer.

The most common model involves multiple investors financing the construction of a development and receiving capital and interest once the real estate project is sold.

In the case of investments in productive real estate, similar in logic to the assets that structure Fibras , the immediate return from rents may be low ; however, by incorporating the capital gain over horizons of 10 to 15 years, the return can approach levels close to 20%.

Furthermore, the scheme allows diversification with small amounts, which helps to mitigate risks by distributing capital across different projects.

Corruption and permits, structural risks

Beyond the commercial risk, one of the main challenges of the real estate sector in Mexico is related to licenses and permits.

Padilla acknowledged that regulatory delays directly impact project timelines and flows, and that the current environment has increased uncertainty.

“It’s related to licenses and permits. And it’s ugly to say it like this, but it’s related to corruption and the cycles that exist,” he stated.

He pointed out that informal costs can arise at different levels to expedite authorizations, which increases expenses and delays developments.

To mitigate financial risks, he explained that the platform requires real guarantees from developers, such as the property itself or other assets, which can be executed in case of default.

Young industry in consolidation

Crowdfunding in Mexico is a recent industry. The oldest platforms began operations just over a decade ago and faced a “reset” with the enactment of the Fintech Law.

Currently, he said, the sector shows a duality between consolidated platforms and others in the model-building stage.

In the case of Briq.mx, it reported that by the end of 2025 the platform had accumulated a record funding of MXN$2.95 billion . For 2026, it estimated reaching approximately MXN$860 million in new funding, compared to the roughly MXN$720 million raised in 2025 .

Padilla added that the evolution of the real estate crowdfunding sector has made it possible to attract larger developers and investment funds interested not only in capital, but also in the technological and operational infrastructure that these platforms offer.

“Crowdfunding, in addition to offering money to those requesting a project, also offers an infrastructure to make that happen,” he concluded.

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(Featured image by Tim Schmidbauer via Unsplash)

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First published in El Cronista. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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