Capital raising for global real estate hit €117 billion in 2025. That’s the third year running at roughly the same level — and according to a major new survey, that’s not a bad thing.
The INREV/ANREV/NCREIF Capital Raising Survey, released today in Amsterdam, shows the market holding steady after the exceptional peaks of 2021 and 2022. For capital raising for real estate, consistency is starting to look a lot like strength.
Participation among managers reached 83% — matching the highest rate since the survey began. And 87% of respondents expect activity to pick up over the next two years. That’s the second-highest reading in the survey’s history.
The big institutional investors are back.
Pension funds climbed to 39% of global capital raised, up from 32% in 2024 and the highest share since 2021. The reason? Listed asset prices stabilised, which eased the over-allocation problem that had kept European pension funds on the sidelines for years. In Asia Pacific and North America, pension funds are still underallocated relative to their targets — meaning more capital could be heading into the market.
Insurance companies made an even more dramatic comeback. Their share jumped from 10% to 15% globally. In European debt strategies specifically, they went from 6% to 41% of non-listed debt capital raised. That’s not a trend — that’s a flood.
The catch? Dry powder.
Only about 30% of capital raised in 2025 was actually deployed within the year, down from 40% in 2024. Piles of unspent capital from prior years are sitting on the sidelines, making managers reluctant to launch new vehicles and investors hesitant to write fresh cheques until existing commitments get put to work.
Over half of managers flagged market conditions as the main barrier to raising capital — a category so relevant it was introduced to the survey for the first time this year.
Still, sentiment stays positive. The optimism isn’t just hope; it’s backed by positive capital growth in recent quarters.
Europe is pulling ahead.
European strategies raised €35 billion — up roughly 20% year-on-year. The makeup of that capital is shifting fast. European investors still lead at 60%, but that’s down from 72% in 2024 and 79% the year before. Asia Pacific investors now account for 25% of capital raised for European strategies, up from 18%. Europe’s relative value and diversification appeal are clearly resonating.
Within single-country strategies, there’s been a sharp pivot toward separate accounts — rising from 20% to 43% in a year. Investors want more control over assets and construction. Makes sense.
Residential remains the top sector for European single-sector strategies at 31%. Data centres made their debut as a standalone category and immediately grabbed 6% — reflecting how fast digital infrastructure is maturing as an institutional asset class.
Iryna Pylypchuk, Director of Research and Market Information at INREV, put it plainly: “A third consecutive year at broadly the same level tells its own story — this is not stagnation, it is a market that has found its floor.”
She also pointed to the latest European ODCE Q1 2026 flash results, which showed performance improving to 1.23% with net capital flows well above €500 million — a second consecutive quarter of strong positive inflows.
“In spite of the broader macroeconomic uncertainty,” she said, “this is a meaningful signal for the market heading into 2026.”
The floor is holding. The question now is what gets built on it.