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Whether you're a seasoned investor or just starting your real estate journey, BiggerPockets is an important website and online community you need to know about.
Founded in 2004 by Joshua Dorkin, this thriving online community has become the go-to resource for millions of real estate enthusiasts in the U.S. and around the world.
With over 3 million registered members, BiggerPockets offers unparalleled access to expert advice, networking opportunities, and educational content—all designed to help you succeed in real estate investing. In this review, we'll explore the platform's key features and how it continues to revolutionize the industry.
How BiggerPockets Began
The original idea behind the website was to create a space where real estate investors could ask questions, get answers, and exchange ideas without the information being twisted by sales pitches and propaganda.
Over the past decade, the website has generated an enormous following. Here are some recent statistics on the site, as of July 2024:
- Approx 3 million monthly unique visitors
- Over 3 million registered members
- Nearly 7 million forum posts, with hundreds added each day
- Highest Rated Real Estate Podcast on Apple Podcasts
These stats are a pretty clear indication that people see the value in BiggerPockets.
In my years as a real estate investor and content creator, I've seen a few other websites attempt to create this kind of “online community for real estate investors.” Still, none lasted more than a few years or made anywhere near the impact of BiggerPockets.
As a real estate blogger, I know what a massive undertaking it is to create and maintain a website that people care enough about to visit again and again.
BiggerPockets enabled users to create detailed profiles, connect, send direct messages, and publicly discuss questions, issues, and ideas on the BP forum. This is similar to how most social media platforms work, but it's geared specifically to real estate investors.
My Experience With BiggerPockets
I discovered BiggerPockets in November 2012, so I've seen how the community has grown and matured.
I've spent many hours in the forums, listened to many of their podcast episodes, contributed to the BiggerPockets Blog, and was even featured on the BiggerPockets Podcast back in the day, so I can say without question that it has been an invaluable resource in my years as a real estate investor.
Whatever your niche in real estate, there is a high likelihood that you'll find legitimate answers if you ask a question in this community.
Of course, you still need to take all information with a grain or two of salt because feedback from strangers on a forum isn't always reliable. Still, at the very least, you're likely to get some decent insights from people who can look at your situation from a different perspective and most likely don't have a hidden agenda to sell you something.
While BiggerPockets delivers a lot of value for free, they do sell some stuff, too.
On the BiggerPockets website, you'll find upsells for pro memberships and books, among other things. However, they've done well at offering these things in a way that comes across as secondary, value-added resources.
The typical user can navigate through the website and get what they came for without being bombarded and distracted by hard-selling sales pitches we're accustomed to in the real estate industry.
Where The Value Is At
In my opinion, the real “meat & potatoes” of BiggerPockets can be boiled down to four pillars:
This is where you'll find most of the free value, and you can legitimately learn a lot and make meaningful connections with others.
However, BiggerPockets goes FAR beyond these three things.
If you spend some time on the site, you'll find an overwhelming amount of information and resources to learn from. Everything from interactive calculators, webinars, their online marketplace where you can list and find deals, conferences and local meetups, and so much more.
While there is more to discover than anyone could ever see, let's focus on the pillars I mentioned above.
The Forum
In my experience, this is where most of the magic happens.
The forum is extremely well-moderated, easy to use, and full of investors with decades of experience.
If I had to guess, I would say this is how most people discover BiggerPockets. With over 3 million members and almost 7 million forum posts, this community has covered almost every conceivable topic a real estate investor would care about.
For newbie investors trying to figure out the business and learn from real investors making it happen, this is a great place to form new relationships, even if they're across the world.
The folks at BP are well aware of the real estate gurus of the world, and they are adamant about defending their space from any sales pitches or spammers. If you're heading into this community to find customers to buy your stuff, you'll have a hard time with that unless you're ready to build real relationships, contribute meaningful ideas to the discussion, and prove your value the old-fashioned way.
Given how abundant and intrusive these kinds of “pitch-fests” have become in real estate investing, the moderators' attention to this forum is completely necessary and highly effective.
The Podcast
I remember when the BiggerPockets Podcast first hit the scene. Josh and Brandon were co-hosts who brought great energy to each show.
Fast-forward over a decade and BiggerPockets now has several podcasts, which are all kind of a big deal. They regularly rank in the Top 100 Business podcasts on Apple Podcasts.
Most episodes focus on interviews with various industry experts, some of whom are more well-known than others.
The other BiggerPockets podcasts explore various offshoots, like the BiggerPockets Money Podcast, which focuses on personal finance, and the BiggerPockets Rookie Podcast, which is directed squarely at beginners.
Many guests are chosen from the BiggerPockets community, which contains many experts in various real estate niches.
As with any podcast, some episodes will resonate more than others (depending on your specific areas of interest), but based on the ratings on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, these shows are a hit.
The YouTube Channel
Given BiggerPockets's reach, it should be no surprise that they also have one of the largest YouTube channels focusing on real estate investing.
Between their various podcasts and other content creators, they manage to publish a new video just about every single day, which is an impressive feat!
If you spend a lot of time on YouTube, you could find yourself endlessly entertained by this channel alone. It stands alone, apart from the main BiggerPockets website.
The Blog
When I first discovered BiggerPockets years ago, there was one blog where real estate experts contributed their thoughts and opinions weekly. The content from this blog continues to be picked up regularly by major news outlets like Reuters, Fox Business News, NPR, Bloomberg, the Washington Post, and others.
Nowadays, the site also hosts tens of thousands of user-generated blogs with varying levels of depth and quality.
It's been interesting to see how the landscape of online content consumption has changed over the past decade. The growth of social media platforms, the surge in video content, and changes in SEO and Google algorithms have affected the popularity and readership of blogs.
Despite these changes, blogs still hold value, especially for in-depth analysis of niches like real estate investing, where detailed content is appreciated.
BiggerPockets: Through the Lens of a Real Estate Blogger
I must say, I greatly appreciate the resource that BiggerPockets has been to me and many others. I also appreciate what this community stands for in the real estate investing world.
The beauty of BiggerPockets is that it isn't designed to push any person's agenda.
The community does have a certain culture that has evolved over the years, but it allows everyone to have a voice, and if someone disagrees with someone else, they're allowed to say so.
It's easier for people to keep each other honest when there are checks and balances.
If one of the writers publishes something in a blog post, it doesn't make them the “ultimate authority” on a subject. Similarly, when someone boldly proclaims their opinion in the BiggerPockets forum, it doesn't mean they won't be questioned if their statements don't add up.
Are there things about the site that could be improved? Of course. However, given everything this website has done for real estate investors over the past two decades, it's hard to nit-pick and find problems with their service (which is mostly free, I might add).
If you haven't explored the BiggerPockets community yet, you should!
Wherever you are in your real estate investing journey, I'm willing to bet you'll find something worthwhile there.
