If you stick around long enough in the mortgage business you’ll eventually see trends repeat themselves. No, we’re not talking about your bell-bottom jeans from 1978, but rather a return of the concept of equity sharing and fractional real estate. Twenty years ago when most were unaware of what a reverse mortgage even was, it wasn’t uncommon to find lower-income seniors with advertisements for equity-sharing or even such an arrangement in place.

One player in this emerging market that has garnered media interest is SmartRE- a blockchain-based platform that allows homeowners to sell a portion of their home equity to private buyers via secure online contracts. Their slogan is ingenious: Cash In & Stay In. One of their videos pitches SmartRE as the smart alternative to HELOCs and yes, even reverse mortgages.

A stable real estate market with modest appreciation is fertile ground for product innovation and investment. New players…