Roots vs Fundrise: the liquidity gap nobody puts side by side

Two non-accredited real estate funds. One runs about $117M. The other runs roughly $3 billion. The small one is the one you can actually get out of.

The numbers

Roots (an Atlanta REIT) reports a 17.17% average annual return since its July 2021 launch — and 12.02% over the trailing 12 months through April 2026. After a one-year hold, it offers quarterly redemptions with no penalty.

Fundrise — the category's giant — has run roughly 6-8% annualized through this cycle (and a real -7.45% in 2023). In October 2025 it suspended redemptions on its Equity REIT. Its other funds still have quarterly windows, but those can be gated or paused under stress.

What it actually means

The return gap is real but partly a boom-era artifact: Roots launched straight into the 2021-22 run-up, and its NAV is appraisal-based, not market-traded. Model the 12% trailing number, not the 17%.

The liquidity gap is the part most "best platform" lists skip. A high return you can't reach during a downturn is a different asset than a slightly lower one you can. And Roots' real risk isn't its exit terms — it's that 100% of its homes sit in metro Atlanta.

A return you can't withdraw in a downturn is a different asset than one you can.

Read the full Roots breakdown → — or the honest Fundrise review →.

— Jorge