The Best Short-Term Investments: Real Estate & More

The Big Picture On The Best Short-Term Investments:

• • Options like high-yield savings accounts offer safety but minimal returns. At the same time, Treasury bills and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) provide slightly higher yields with government-backed security, albeit still susceptible to inflation risks.
  • Groundfloor provides high returns (around 9-10%) by investing in short-term real estate loans, though funds remain locked until borrowers repay. Concreit offers greater liquidity with a high dividend and easy withdrawals, but at a more moderate return level.
  • Higher-risk strategies like corporate bonds and fractional ownership in property funds, such as those offered by Ark7 and Arrived Homes, enable investors to target higher returns.

You don’t always know when a killer real estate deal will come along. Sometimes, you wait months or longer for the right deal.

Plus, it takes time to save up a down payment. Even if you borrow 80% with an investment property loan, you still need $100,000 for a $500,000 property.

All of which means real estate investors need places to park their money while they prepare to buy their next property.

So, what are your best options for short-term investing? Start here in your search for the best short-term investments.

What You Want in Short-Term Investments

Your goals for short-term investments are different from long-term investments. Rather than chasing the highest possible returns, look for the following when investing short-term:

• Low Risk/Volatility: Imagine you set aside some money for a down payment on a rental property by investing it in the stock market. Then, as soon as you find a good deal on a property, the stock market crashes, evaporating 25% of your funds. Suddenly, you no longer have enough cash for the deal, and it slips through your fingers. You need safe, secure investments for short-term investments rather than counting on the high historical average stock returns.
• Liquidity: With short-term investments, you often don’t know exactly when to pull out your money. When the time comes, you may need to move fast. That means you need highly liquid investments that you can access easily instead of illiquid but high-return investments like Fundrise and Streitwise.
• No Transaction Costs: If you have to pay hefty fees to move money in and out of your investments, it defeats the purpose of short-term investments. For example, investment properties cost thousands of dollars to buy or sell, in addition to their poor liquidity — which is precisely why they’re long-term investments.

Best Short-Term Real Estate Investments

Real estate is notoriously illiquid. It costs a lot of money and time to buy or sell, which makes it a long-term investment.

If you buy properties directly, that is.

But in today’s world, you have plenty of passive real estate investing options. And not all of them require a long-term commitment.

If you want to invest for a year or less, try these short-term real estate investing options. I included the last two because you can access your money in under a year if needed, but they’re designed as longer-term investments.

1. Groundfloor Notes

I’ve personally invested tens of thousands of dollars through Groundfloor’s platform. If you’ve read our Groundfloor review, you know they’re my favorite real estate crowdfunding platform — and for good reason.

Groundfloor is a hard money lender that issues short-term purchase-rehab loans. You can invest in individual loans on their platform (more on that shortly), but they also let you lend money directly to the company along with their full guarantee of repayment. You lend money to Groundfloor at a fixed interest rate for a set period rather than funding a loan to a borrower.

Note terms range from one month to two years, with options for three-month and one-year notes. The one- and two-year notes pay interest monthly, while shorter notes pay all interest upon maturity.

Expect to earn interest in the 6-10.5% range, with a minimum investment of $1,000.

2. Groundfloor LROs

Groundfloor also lets you pick and choose individual loans to fund, called LROs (“limited recourse obligation”). The minimum investment is only $10 per loan, although the minimum initial transfer to open an account with Groundfloor is $1,000.

You get your original money back plus interest when the borrower repays their loan. When you browse loans to fund, it shows you the remaining term on the loan and when the borrower has agreed to repay it in full. Most loans repay within 3-12 months, but borrowers don’t always repay the loans on time, and you don’t have any control over when you get your money back.

Groundfloor offers the best returns on this list, paying interest ranging from 6.5% to 14%. However, you can’t access your money once it’s invested until the borrower repays their loan.

Sadly, Groundfloor ended its Stairs program in 2023. Fortunately, the competitor that Groundfloor mimicked with Stairs continues to go strong.

Groundfloor LRO Key Features

In addition, here’s more of what you should know before getting started.

3. Concreit

Like Groundfloor, Concreit lets you invest in investment property loans. Specifically, they use a pooled fund to buy short-term fix-and-flip loans (hard money loans).

As a financial investor, you buy shares in this pooled fund. Last I checked, Concreit’s fund owns around 155 loans nationwide.

Because these loans come with such short terms (6-12 months), they turn over quickly. That, in turn, lets Concreit offer far greater liquidity than most real estate crowdfunding investments. You can withdraw your money at any time without penalty on your principal. However, they do ding your dividend payout by 20% if you pull out your money within the first year of investing.

Still, they pay an annual dividend up to 6.6%, far higher than most government bonds or high-yield savings accounts. Even if you pull out your money within the first year, you earn a 5.2% dividend yield — not too shabby.

Oh, and you don’t have to be a wealthy accredited investor, either: anyone can invest with as little as $1. I myself park my short-term money with Concreit to earn a decent dividend yield on money I might need to withdraw quickly for a real estate deal.

Just beware that the withdrawn money can take a few weeks to land back in your checking account. Concreit says it can take up to two to four weeks.

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4. Other Real Estate Notes

Some real estate private equity funds or general partners also offer short-term notes. These may or may not be backed by property equity or secured debts.

For example, in our Co-Investing Club, we invested in a nine-month note for Norada Capital, the private equity arm of Norada Real Estate. The note wasn’t backed by properties but rather by the businesses owned and operated by Norada. It’s been paying us 15% interest every month like clockwork.

Similarly, EquityMultiple and 7e Investments also offer notes, although properties back theirs. Given the lower risk, expect lower interest rates.

5. Ark7 Property Shares

You can buy fractional ownership in rental properties on Ark7, which offers initial shares at just $20. This system works similarly to Arrived, but instead of forcing you to hold for 5-7 years, Ark7 features a secondary market for buying and selling shares.

After a one-year minimum hold period, you can sell your shares at any time on the secondary market. Read our full Ark7 review for more details, but it is a rare way to invest in short-term rental properties.

5. Arrived Rental Property Fund

Arrived was the first real estate crowdfunding platform to offer fractional ownership of single-family rental properties. They let you buy shares for $100, but once you buy in, you’re stuck holding the property until they sell.

However, in late 2023, they launched a fund that owns many rental properties. After a six-month minimum holding period, you can redeem your shares.

They still want you to treat the fund as a long-term investment. If you sell your shares within 6-12 months of buying, you’ll be hit with a 2% penalty. That drops to 1% if you sell within one to five years.

Still, it’s another option on the table that offers a short-term exit if you choose.

6. Fundrise

While they, too, want you to hold your investment long-term, Fundrise also lets you redeem shares early if you must.

They don’t charge for redeeming shares of their flagship fund, but they do charge 1% for selling shares of their eREITs and other funds. However, they do impose some restrictions, such as only reviewing redemption requests once a quarter.

Again, don’t plan on it being a short-term investment, but you can generally access your money in under a year if needed.

Best Short-Term Investments (Non-Real Estate)

As a general rule, higher returns require a higher level of risk. So, if you want low-risk investments with strong liquidity, don’t expect massive returns.

But that doesn’t mean every single short-term investment option pays out weak returns.

The following list starts with the lowest risk and returns, with rising risk and returns as the list goes on. Know your needs and risk tolerance and invest accordingly!

1. High-Yield Savings Accounts

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures all bank and money market accounts up to $250,000. In other words, these accounts carry virtually no risk, short of a zombie apocalypse.

And they pay accordingly.

Even high-yield savings and money market accounts only pay 1-2% interest, maybe 2-3% if you find a unicorn deal. You’ll still lose money to inflation, but that’s the cost of being conservative.

2. Treasury Bills (T-Bills)

The US Treasury Department issues short-term bonds called Treasury Bills, or T-Bills, among the cool crowd.

They range from a few days up to a year to count as “T-Bills” rather than “Treasury bonds.” The longer the term, the higher the interest rate, but don’t get excited. Even the longest don’t pay well.

At the time of this writing, in November 2024, 4-week T-Bills pay around 4.54% annual rate of return, and interest ranges up to around 4.31% for a 52-week T-Bill. Again, you’ll lose money to inflation in the current environment.

 But of course, they’re guaranteed by Uncle Sam, so they come with zero risk.

3. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)

Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, which also have the nifty nickname “TIPS,” are Treasury bonds with a unique trick up their sleeve. The face value adjusts based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), so the value adjusts by the inflation rate.

These bonds also pay a small interest rate as well, on top of adjusting in value for inflation. For example, imagine you buy a TIPS bond for $1,000, paying 1.5% interest on the face value of the bond. After a year, inflation has risen at 5%, so the face value of your TIPS bond adjusts upward to $1,050, and you collect 1.5% interest on that higher $1,050 face value ($15.75) rather than your original $1,000 purchase price. Upon maturity, the Treasury pays you back the current face value or your original face value in the unlikely deflation scenario.

In high-interest environments like today’s, they’re not a bad place to hold your money.

4.  Short-Term Bond Funds

You can buy shares in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) specializing in owning short-term bonds. That keeps the volatility — and, therefore, risk — low and the returns low.

However, these funds offer instant liquidity as you can buy and sell shares instantly through your brokerage account.

Want to compare investment property loans?

What do lenders charge for a rental property mortgage? What credit scores and down payments do they require?

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We compare the best purchase-rehab lenders and long-term landlord loans on LTV, interest rates, closing costs, income requirements and more.

5. Municipal Bonds

Municipal bonds come with a higher risk of default than federal government bonds, but that doesn’t mean much. Most cities in the US are good for the money, and you get some tax breaks on municipal bonds that boost their effective returns compared to taxable investments (more on short-term investment taxes later).

Specifically, you pay no federal taxes on municipal bond interest; in most cities and states, you also pay no state or local income taxes. Suppose you would otherwise have paid 20% in total income taxes on your bond interest, and the municipal bonds pay 4% in interest. In that case, that means you walk away with the same net interest as a taxable investment, paying 5% returns.

The risk doesn’t come from default so much as changes in interest rates. When interest rates rise, the value of existing (lower-paying) bonds decreases on the secondary market. You can dodge this bullet by buying short-term bonds that mature in under a year, but they also pay lower interest yields.

6. Corporate Bonds

Sensing a theme here?

Bonds make good short-term investments, and for the same reason, they make good retirement investments: they’re relatively safe and stable. And while they’ve paid miserably low interest rates for decades, corporate bonds tend to pay better than government bonds.

Because, of course, they come with a higher risk of default. Any given business is likelier to declare bankruptcy than the average city government. Do your due diligence, but if you invest in blue chip companies, your default risk remains extremely low.

However, rate risk remains, just as with government bonds. When interest rates go up, existing bond prices go down. Buyer beware.

How Long Are You Willing to Park Your Money?

Let’s be real, timing matters when you’re investing, especially for real estate investors waiting for their next deal. Here’s what works for different periods:

• • Ultra-Short Term (0-3 Months): Stick to high-yield savings accounts or money market funds. Sure, you’ll earn around 4%, but your cash stays ready to deploy. Perfect for that property down payment you’ll need to pull the trigger on soon.
  • Mid-Short Term (3-12 Months): This is where it gets interesting. Groundfloor notes can net you 5-10% returns if you can wait until the loan gets repaid. Or grab some T-bills if you need more flexibility – they’re not exciting but rock-solid.
  • Extended Short Term (1-2 Years): Now, you have options. Concreit pays a steady 6.5% dividend and lets you pull money out when needed. Corporate bonds work too, especially if you ladder them right.

The Real Risks and Returns

The relationship between risk and reward in short-term investing follows a clear pattern but with some interesting twists.

1. Low Risk, Low Reward: Traditional options like savings accounts and T-bills offer nearly zero risk but correspondingly low returns (around 4%). Your principal is safe, but inflation will likely eat into your purchasing power.

2. Medium Risk, Medium Reward: Here, you can find good options. Platforms like Concreit and corporate bonds occupy this middle ground by offering 5-8% returns with moderate risk. These investments typically have some form of asset backing or institutional stability.

3. Higher Risk, Higher Reward: Individual Groundfloor LROs and certain corporate bonds can push returns into the 10-14% range. While these carry more risk, they’re still far more stable than volatile options like stocks for short-term holding.

Short-Term Investments Tax

How are short-term investments taxed?

Unfortunately, you pay your ordinary income tax rates on your short-term investments owned for less than one year. That goes for interest, dividends, and profits from selling assets owned less than one year.

In contrast, you pay the lower long-term capital gains tax rate on investments held longer than one year.

The IRS isn’t the only bogeyman treating your short-term investment returns as taxable income either. Most states and some cities also charge income taxes on your short-term investment returns. For a list of states with no income taxes, check out our interactive maps of the states with the lowest tax burden.

Tax Implications and Protection

You need to know more about taxes and protection – because what matters is what you keep.

Again, any investment you cash out before a year gets taxed at your regular income rate. That sweet over 10% return? Uncle Sam’s gonna want some of that action first. Though here’s a tip: municipal bonds dodge federal taxes, and sometimes state taxes, too.

As for keeping your money safe, banks protect you up to $250,000 with FDIC insurance. Treasury isn’t FDIC-insured, but it’s backed by the government. And those Groundfloor loans? They’re secured by actual property—a different kind of safety net, but it works.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but remember, the best short-term investment isn’t always the most “secure” one – it’s the one that matches when you’ll need the cash while keeping your money reasonably safe.

Final Thoughts

Real estate investing requires you to save a large amount of money and deploy it immediately when a good deal comes along.

In other words, you need to find places to park your money short-term and hopefully earn a return on it until you pull it out. That’s easier when inflation isn’t raging over 9% like it did in 2022. However, even with today’s elevated inflation, you can still beat the inflation rate with a few of the options above, including TIPS and Groundfloor.

And, of course, the ultimate hedge against inflation is real estate.

What’s your short-term investment strategy? How does short-term investing fit into your larger financial goals and investment portfolio?

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