At a glance
- Private wealth is supplying a growing share of the money.
- Cross-border money has been a seller," Jim Costello, an executive director at MSCI, said.
- Advisors whose clients include family offices are dealing with a client base that treats real estate as a programmatic allocation, which points to repeat demand for funds, separate accounts and joint ventures.
Commercial real estate investment hit $263.7 billion in the third quarter, up 89% from a year earlier, according to MSCI data reported by Commercial Observer. Private wealth is supplying a growing share of the money.
"In recent periods, institutional money has been a seller. Cross-border money has been a seller," Jim Costello, an executive director at MSCI, said. "It's private capital moving in." Private capital has used disruption and shifting valuations to pick up assets in forced sales at steep discounts, Commercial Observer reported.
Advisors whose clients include family offices are dealing with a client base that treats real estate as a programmatic allocation, which points to repeat demand for funds, separate accounts and joint ventures. Altrata has tracked 50% growth in family office formation, from about 6,000 in 2019 to more than 9,200 today. A February J.P. Morgan Private Bank poll found more than a third of U.S. family offices planned to increase their real estate exposure.
Globally, private wealth already outweighs institutions. Knight Frank's analysis put investment from family offices and high-net-worth individuals at $464 billion last year, against $347 billion from institutional investors.
Private wealth outbought institutions in global real estate
Global commercial real estate investment by investor type, last year ($B)
| Part | Value ($B) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| $464B | 57.2% | |
| $347B | 42.8% |
The money behind those commitments is household wealth. U.S. households and nonprofits gained $12.8 trillion of net worth in the second quarter of 2026 alone, the 11th straight quarterly gain, according to Federal Reserve data cited by Commercial Observer. The S&P 500 rose 11% through the first nine months of the year.
Dollar volume is not price. Multifamily sales jumped 139% on the Vivmark mega-merger alone, as Private Wealth Daily previously reported, which suggests a single transaction can move a sector's volume without any change in what the buildings are worth.
"We're seeing faster growth and faster deployment into CRE from family offices," Adrian Ponsen, senior economist at Cushman & Wakefield, said. "The top 1 percent of the U.S. has seen its aggregate net worth more than double in the last 10 years."
The top 1 percent of the U.S. has seen its aggregate net worth more than double in the last 10 years.Adrian Ponsen, senior economist at Cushman & Wakefield
Reported by the Fundraising desk from Commercial Observer and Private Wealth Daily archive. Published . Corrections