Blackstone Sees Renewed CRE Momentum as Deal Flow Rebounds Article originally posted on Globe St. on October 29, 2025 Blackstone’s deal momentum is building as the world’s largest alternative asset manager sees improving investor sentiment and a more favorable capital environment in commercial real estate. “This is an exciting time for the firm and our investors,” Blackstone CEO Jon Gray said during the company’s third-quarter 2025 earnings call on October 23. “The deal dam is finally breaking, and we have a bunch of secular tailwinds driving us forward as well.” According to the company’s earnings release, Blackstone reported $54 billion in total inflows during the third quarter and $225 billion over the trailing 12 months. Opportunistic real estate posted a -0.6% investment performance in Q3 and -5.2% for the year, while core plus strategies recorded 0.6% quarterly and 12‑month appreciation. Within real estate, inflows totaled $3.82 billion during the quarter, including $123 million for opportunistic investments, $2.62 billion for core plus, and $1.07 billion for debt strategies. Over the past 12 months, real estate inflows reached $25.31 billion, led by $13.42 billion in core plus, $8.18 billion in debt and $3.71 billion in opportunistic capital. “In real estate specifically, investor sentiment is starting to improve following the downturn,” Gray said. “We remain firm believers in the sector’s recovery and that flows ultimately follow performance.” Gray noted that commercial property values bottomed in December 2023 and have been gradually strengthening since, with the recovery curve becoming steeper. He added that both the cost and availability of capital have improved. Transaction activity in U.S. logistics is up 25% year-over-year, while a “dramatic decline” in new construction starts should support long-term asset values. During the third quarter, the firm deployed $3.61 billion in real estate capital, including $1.47 billion in opportunistic investments, $615 million in core plus, and $1.53 billion in debt strategies. Over the last 12 months, total real estate deployment reached $22.03 billion, comprising $10.02 billion in opportunistic, $4.77 billion in core plus, and $7.24 billion in debt strategies. Realizations in the quarter totaled $7.35 billion, divided among $2.77 billion in opportunistic, $2.04 billion in core plus and $2.55 billion in debt strategies. Over the trailing year, real estate realizations reached $22.36 billion, with $5.23 billion from opportunistic strategies, $7.75 billion from core plus and $9.38 billion from debt. Blackstone’s real estate assets under management stood at $320.5 billion as of Q3 2025, down slightly from $325.1 billion a year earlier. Fee‑earning AUM declined to $282.6 billion from $285.5 billion, while perpetual capital real estate AUM fell to $167.3 billion from $169.6 billion in the prior year. The firm reported $52.7 billion in real estate dry powder. Distributable earnings from real estate were $618 million for the quarter and $2.14 billion over the past 12 months. Gray also highlighted the continued strength of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust’s portfolio composition. “BREIT’s exposure to data centers, now almost 20%, continues to be extremely helpful in driving its results,” he said.