US property manager tokenizes multifamily properties on Chintai blockchain

Patel Real Estate Holdings (PREH) has launched a $100 million tokenization fund on the Chintai blockchain, aiming to give accredited investors access to institutional-grade real estate opportunities.

The new PREH Multifamily Fund is a tokenized investment vehicle focused on vintage Class A multifamily units across the top 20 US growth markets, the company told Cointelegraph on May 12.

“The entire structure is digital-native from the start — compliant onboarding, reporting, capital calls, and (potential) secondary market transfers,” a PREH spokesperson said.

The fund is part of a broader $750 million investment vehicle co-developed by PREH and several institutional firms, including Carlyle, DRA Advisors, Walton Street Capital, RPM and KKR. Initially, the company said that $25 million of the $100 million allocation would be tokenized on Chintai. 

According to PREH, the tokenization structure helps alleviate many transparency and liquidity constraints investors typically face in private market placements.

Founded in 2010, PREH is a national real estate asset manager that oversees a portfolio of Class A multifamily properties. The company owns and operates real estate investments, overseeing the acquisition, financing and management of properties. 

Since its inception, PREH has completed more than $500 million in real estate transactions.

Chintai is a tokenization-focused layer-1 blockchain that also powers the R3 Sustainability Fund for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. Its native token, CHEX, is currently valued at $0.24, with a total market capitalization of $244 million, according to CoinMarketCap.

Chintai (CHEX) token price. Source: CoinMarketCap

“We chose Chintai because they offer a fully regulated, institutional-grade platform purpose-built for tokenizing real-world assets,” PREH’s president, Tejas Patel, told Cointelegraph in a written statement, adding:

“Their technology allows us to maintain the highest standards of compliance and investor protections while introducing the efficiencies and access advantages of blockchain.”

Related: RWA tokenization trends and market outlook for 2025: Report

Tokenizing real estate

Tokenizing real estate has long been seen as a way to modernize property investment, but until recently, real-world examples were rare. 

By early 2025, real estate tokenization had gained traction across North America and the United Arab Emirates, while efforts are underway in Europe to establish regulatory frameworks that support its growth.

One of the biggest catalysts for tokenization is the “ability to eliminate the illiquidity discount on real estate,” Polygon CEO Mark Boiron told Cointelegraph in March.

The growth of liquid secondary markets for fractional real estate could significantly strengthen that advantage.

This motivation also drove RWA platform DigiShares to launch the REX marketplace on Polygon earlier this year, featuring two luxury property listings in Miami, Florida.

Efforts are also underway to tokenize commercial real estate, with Blocksquare and Vera Capital recently partnering to offer fractional ownership of more than $1 billion worth of properties.

Deloitte expects global tokenized real estate value to more than quadruple between 2030 and 2035. Source: Deloitte

Against this backdrop, consultancy firm Deloitte has forecast that $4 trillion worth of real estate will be tokenized on the blockchain over the next decade.

Magazine: Have your stake and earn fees too: Tushar Aggarwal on double dipping in DeFi