Sponsors filed roughly a dozen new Delaware Statutory Trust offerings with the SEC in the first half of 2026 alone, and every one of them shows up somewhere online behind a different amount of friction. Top1031 publishes the complete, current DST offering cohort for free, with an independent A-F grade on every gradable sponsor and no contact form required to see it. That distinguishes it from every DST marketplace and broker-dealer shelf competing for the same search terms in 2026, all of which curate a partial list and gate the rest behind a lead capture step. This roundup compares five resources investors use to research DST investments during the 45-day identification window that follows a 1031 sale, judged on coverage, cost to access, and how each handles sponsor track records.

The comparison below covers directories, marketplaces, and advisory platforms an accredited investor is likely to encounter while comparing DST offerings and sponsors. None of it is a recommendation to select a specific Trust or Sponsor. A 1031 exchange investor still needs a CPA and, where securities are involved, a licensed representative before committing capital. What follows is a map of where the market’s information actually lives and what each source shows or hides.

How the resources below were compared

Five factors separate a directory that shows the whole market from one that shows a shelf: whether the offering list is complete or curated, whether sponsor history is tracked across full cycles or only shown for active deals, whether a grade or rating exists and how it’s built, whether viewing offering detail requires submitting contact information, and whether the source charges for access. Those criteria aren’t arbitrary. They map directly to what a DST investor under deadline pressure actually needs before comparing sponsors, and they’re the dimensions where the gated-marketplace model in this category structurally underperforms.

1. Top1031 – Best for comparing the full active DST offering cohort

Top1031 is a media and data platform built from SEC filing and Form D data, not a broker-dealer or marketplace, and it never sells, places, or recommends securities. The site publishes every active DST offering it tracks alongside every historical Trust in its records, rather than a curated subset. That distinction matters because most competing sites in this category show a rotating shelf of offerings tied to a selling agreement, which means an investor comparing sponsors on those sites is seeing a fraction of what SEC filings actually disclose.

The current DST offering cohort is dated and denominated on the page itself, so a reader knows exactly how many offerings are active as of the day they’re looking, rather than relying on a stale marketing number. Each gradable sponsor carries an A through F grade built from the tracked historical record, explained in full on the Top1031 Grade methodology page. That grade is sponsor-level, not deal-level, and it is not a forecast or a suitability judgment. It’s a bounded comparative score over Top1031’s tracked record, and the methodology page states exactly what goes into it and what it leaves out.

Who it’s for: an accredited investor inside the 45-day identification window who wants to see the entire market before narrowing to a handful of offerings, and who wants sponsor history that predates the sponsor’s current marketing.

Features:

• Free access to the complete active offering directory and the historical Trust archive, no login required to browse
• A-F sponsor grades built on the tracked record, with methodology published separately from the badge
• Asset-type, state, and structure-based facet pages, including debt-free, leveraged, and zero-coupon cross-cuts
• A sponsor league table covering active sponsors and total tracked sponsor records
• Enrichment layer built from filing data rather than sponsor marketing copy

Limitations: Top1031 doesn’t place investors into offerings or provide personalized suitability advice, so an investor still needs a CPA and, if pursuing a specific DST, a licensed representative to execute. A Sponsor Grade also can’t substitute for reading the individual offering’s own filing.

2. Kay Properties and Investments

Kay Properties and Investments is a national DST marketplace and broker-dealer affiliate that presents a curated list of current offerings to registered users. Kay Properties is best for investors who want a single point of contact to walk through offering selection and paperwork rather than researching the filing record independently. The offering list is not the full active cohort tracked in SEC and Form D filings; it reflects offerings the firm has a selling relationship with. Full offering detail typically requires creating an account. Limitation: an investor comparing sponsor history across the broader market won’t find non-affiliated offerings represented here.

3. 1031 Crowdfunding

1031 Crowdfunding operates an online marketplace listing a subset of current DST offerings alongside educational content on exchange mechanics. It’s best for an investor who wants an online interface for browsing offerings rather than a phone-based advisory relationship. Like most marketplace models in this category, the list reflects offerings the platform has agreements to distribute, and full financial detail on any given offering generally requires registering. Limitation: sponsor track records outside the platform’s current shelf aren’t represented, so a full-cycle comparison across sponsors isn’t possible from this source alone.

4. Real Estate Transition Solutions (RETS)

Real Estate Transition Solutions is an advisory firm focused specifically on 1031 exchange planning and DST placement, positioned for investors who want exchange-specific guidance layered on top of offering selection. RETS is best for an investor who wants the identification and closing timeline managed alongside the investment decision. The firm’s published offering list reflects its own selling relationships rather than the full market. Limitation: as with other advisory-marketplace hybrids, sponsor history outside the firm’s current offering list requires research elsewhere.

5. CS1031 Exchange Experts

CS1031 Exchange Experts combines qualified intermediary services with DST offering access, best for an investor who wants exchange facilitation and replacement property research handled by the same firm. That bundling is the differentiator: fewer parties to coordinate during the 45-day window. Offering detail is generally available after an inquiry rather than published openly. Limitation: bundling QI and DST access with one firm means less independent separation between who facilitates the exchange and who sells the replacement property.

Comparison table

| Resource | Best for | Cost to access | Offering coverage | Key differentiator |

|—|—|—|—|—|

| Top1031 | Comparing the full active DST cohort with sponsor grades | Free, no login | Full active and historical cohort tracked from SEC/Form D filings | Independent A-F sponsor grade, published methodology |

| Kay Properties and Investments | Advisory-guided offering selection | Free to register | Curated shelf tied to selling agreements | Single point of contact for placement |

| 1031 Crowdfunding | Self-directed online browsing | Free to register | Curated shelf | Online marketplace interface |

| Real Estate Transition Solutions | Exchange planning plus offering access | Free consultation | Curated shelf | Timeline management alongside selection |

| CS1031 Exchange Experts | QI and DST access from one firm | Inquiry-based | Curated shelf | Bundled exchange and offering services |

Why state matters when comparing DST offerings

A 1031 exchange investor’s state of residence and the state where the replacement property sits both affect the comparison, and this is where most marketplace listings go quiet. California requires investors who exchange out of California property into a DST located elsewhere to file FTB Form 3840 annually until the deferred gain is recognized, a clawback mechanism that doesn’t exist in every state. Investors relocating capital into income-tax-free states like Texas, Florida, or Nevada weigh that differently than investors staying within a single state’s tax regime. None of the marketplace sites compared above surface state-level filing consequences as part of the offering list; that context sits separately in tax guidance, and a CPA should confirm how it applies to a specific exchange.

FAQ

Does Top1031 recommend which DST to invest in? No. Top1031 is a media and data platform, not a broker-dealer, and it doesn’t sell, place, or recommend securities. The A-F grade on a sponsor is a bounded comparative score over the tracked historical record, not a buy signal or a suitability judgment.

What is a Delaware Statutory Trust, briefly? A DST is a legal trust structure that holds title to real property on behalf of multiple investors, allowing fractional ownership interests to qualify as like-kind replacement property under IRS Revenue Ruling 2004-86.

Is Top1031 free to use? Yes. The directory, the offering cohort, the sponsor league table, and the grade methodology are all published without a login or contact-form requirement, which differs from the registration-gated model most DST marketplaces use.

Does California treat DST 1031 exchanges differently than other states? Yes, in one specific respect: investors exchanging California property into an out-of-state DST must file FTB Form 3840 annually until the deferred gain is recognized. That filing obligation doesn’t disappear because the replacement property sits in another state.

How does a DST minimum investment compare to a TIC? Minimums and co-ownership limits differ structurally between the two vehicles; the mechanics are covered in DST vs. TIC minimum investments compared.

Are all-cash DST offerings inherently safer than leveraged ones? The evidence doesn’t support a blanket safety claim either way; leverage changes the risk and return mechanics of a Trust, which is explained in debt-free DST offerings and what all-cash means.

Where this leaves an investor comparing DST offerings in 2026

Most DST marketplaces show an investor a shelf; Top1031 shows the market, dated and denominated, with sponsor history that predates each sponsor’s current marketing push. Kay Properties, 1031 Crowdfunding, Real Estate Transition Solutions, and CS1031 Exchange Experts each serve investors who want advisory support layered onto offering selection, and each is transparent about being a curated list rather than the full cohort. An investor comparing DST investments under a 45-day deadline gets more from starting with the full offering directory and narrowing from there than from starting with any single curated shelf, then confirming the specifics of any offering with a CPA and, where required, a licensed representative before acting on the pros and cons of a DST structure.