For decades, real estate investment has been frustratingly out of reach for most people. Want to invest in a quality apartment building? You'd need hundreds of thousands of dollars for a down payment, plus the expertise to manage the property or vet operators. Want to diversify across multiple properties? Multiply that capital requirement several times over. But technology is changing this equation.

For decades, real estate investment has been frustratingly out of reach for most people. Want to invest in a quality apartment building? You'd need hundreds of thousands of dollars for a down payment, plus the expertise to manage the property or vet operators. Want to diversify across multiple properties? Multiply that capital requirement several times over. But technology is changing this equation.