selling "shares" of real estate

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My brother's family owns a few very nice homes in a resort market that he rents out. The rentals are primarily during the summer season as that is when people visit the town. Of course, they are having a harder time with their rentals for this upcoming summer and therefore, may have some cashflow issues.

They are putting the properties on the market at prices that are very competitive - generally much better than similarly listed properties. However the homes are still very pricey - over $2.5M and may have a difficult time selling in this market due to a limited number of buyers.

I was wondering if anyone ever sells "shares" of real estate where an investor may purchase a percentage of a property with the idea that the property will be worth more sometime down the road. The advantage for both my brother and investors would be that many more people could potentially invest.

My brother truly believes that in 2 years, the property should be worth significantly more than now. I know there is certainly a risk with that sort of thinking and I am sure there could be complications with this sort of deal, but does anyone know if this is possible and if so, how he may go about this?