23 April 2025, Amsterdam – The INREV/ANREV/NCREIF 2025 Capital Raising Survey reveals that a minimum of €118 billion of new capital for investment into non-listed real estate was raised in 2024 – only slightly up on the €117 billion reported in 2023. However, there are indications that the markets are moving favourably, as 40% of the total capital raised in 2024 is already invested. This is a significant jump from only 16% in 2023, up from €18 billion to €48 billion. Managers who control the post-2020 vehicle vintages look to be making good progress in deploying capital that had been committed. This shift is a direct function of gradual market recovery and the recent uptick in transactional activity.
The survey finds that Asia Pacific has become a substantially bigger player both as a source of capital and as a region to invest in. Capital raised for European strategies remained steady at just under €29 billion, albeit far from the €50-70 billion annual mark reported between 2015 and 2022. Non-listed/commingled real estate funds and private REITs attracted the highest share of capital from European (55%) and North American (49%) investors. This reflects continuous appetite for the traditional investment vehicles in established markets. However, investors have moved away from global strategies in favour of regional funds.
Other key findings from the survey include:
- Asian Pacific strategies saw €36 billion of capital raised in 2024, nearly 80% up from 2023
The region also emerged as a leading source of capital, accounting for 43% of the total capital raised globally, significantly above its long-term average of 26%
- Capital raised for global strategies fell by over 50% year-on-year, demonstrating a clear shift in preferences towards specific regional strategies
- Pension funds and insurance companies account for just 42% of the total global capital raised in 2024, following a gradual decline of dominance over the last few years. Instead, the “other” category, comprising a range of non-traditional investors, has seen significant growth and now accounts for the largest share, at 34%
Commenting on the results of the survey, Iryna Pylypchuk, Director of Research and Market Information at INREV, said: “Whilst capital raising levels have remained largely unchanged compared to 2023, the latest survey results reveal some distinct changes to the global real estate investment landscape. Asia Pacific rise to prominence is not surprising, given that most investors in the region are still under allocated to real estate and are seeking to diversify their portfolios into foreign markets and currencies. Concurrently, as perhaps the last region to the party in the global correction cycle, markets in the Asia Pacific region look to have become increasingly attractive for investors from all domiciles.
“The decline in global strategies is also notable. I would not call it the end of globalisation, but it is most certainly a shift and may even result in a greater outflux of North American capital cross-regions. What we see is that investors and allocators have pivoted towards a bottom-up approach, globalising their portfolios through deployment into regional strategies which complement one another which also provides more flexibility.
“Separately, the results from the survey highlight greater fragmentation of the investor landscape. The two traditionally dominant sources of capital – pension funds and insurance companies – have reduced their contributions. Other less traditional investors are growing in dominance and reflect changing world order and wealth, as well as the ongoing efforts by fund managers to explore alternative avenues for raising capital in challenging market conditions. Earlier overallocation, coupled with turbulence in wider financial markets, may explain the current move by pension funds and insurance companies, but these investors are likely just biding their time.
“Overall, the survey results indicate a rush towards safety, as European and American investors have favoured traditional investment vehicles, providing a positive outlook for commingled real estate funds and private REITs. Asian Pacific investors, on the other hand, showed a greater preference for separate accounts investing into indirect vehicles of investment, reflecting appetite for greater control. To what extent the nuanced real estate recovery might be derailed or accelerated off the back of what emerges as a new world order, both politically and economically, will not be clear for some time, possibly not until late 2025.”