CRE Capital Raising on Pace to Surpass Pre-Pandemic Records Article originally posted on Globe St. on September 30, 2025 A fresh wave of capital is beginning to flow into U.S. commercial real estate, marking a shift in investor sentiment after several challenging years. According to a new Cushman & Wakefield report authored by Abby Corbett, senior economist and head of investor insights and Adrian Ponsen, senior economist for investor insights, a combination of improving fundamentals and renewed lending activity is fueling momentum across property sectors. The report notes that several market conditions have turned positive over the past year. Office availability has been gradually declining, industrial is benefiting from a slowdown in speculative construction and multifamily vacancy rates are ticking lower. At the same time, lending markets are showing signs of health, with loan originations up more than 30% year-over-year in the first half of 2025. That increase in debt liquidity has supported a rebound in property sales and helped stabilize pricing after a broad period of decline. Investor behavior is shifting alongside these improvements. Cushman & Wakefield points to accelerating flows of both equity and debt capital as evidence of rising confidence in long-term values, even amid current volatility. Private capital fundraising has gained pace, on track to hit $129 billion this year if momentum continues. That figure would surpass 2019’s level, which, outside the extraordinary peaks of 2021 and 2022, remains the strongest year on record. Large fund closings highlight the scale of activity. Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners V raised $16 billion, its largest fund to date, while Carlyle Realty Partners X closed on $9 billion. Blackstone’s BREIT also had its strongest quarter in two and a half years during the second quarter, raising $1.1 billion. Publicly traded REITs have been active in debt markets as well. With the Federal Reserve stopping its rate hikes, issuance has climbed. Cushman & Wakefield reported that trailing 12-month unsecured secondary debt offerings by U.S. REITs reached $48 billion in the second quarter. Institutional investors continue to favor multifamily and industrial properties, echoing patterns seen during the pandemic. Out of the 20 largest non-secondary real estate equity funds closed so far this year, 13 list multifamily, industrial or both as focus areas. Another four centers are exclusively on data centers, reflecting growing attention to artificial intelligence and related infrastructure. Despite these niche strategies, many of the largest debt funds remain broadly diversified to balance income and exposure. So far, debt fund activity has been especially robust. More than $20 billion has been raised targeting North American real estate, making 2025 the second-strongest year on record, behind only 2021. Corbett and Ponsen argue that the resurgence of equity and debt fundraising may be the most important signal of all, suggesting that investors are not only willing to deploy capital but are increasingly confident that conditions are turning a corner.