When Gallup polled Americans recently about what they consider the best long-term investment, more picked real estate than chose stocks, bonds or gold. Yet a handful of startups are betting that homeowners will give up some of their potential gains to either buy a house they couldn't otherwise afford or to liberate cash for other uses—say, starting a business, paying for college or even investing in stocks. (Over the past three decades, the S&P 500 has produced an average annual return of 11%, compared with 4% average annual appreciation for U.S. housing.)
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