Despite capital raising for non-listed real estate holding steady at €117bn in 2025, pension funds have increased their dominance as the largest global capital source, with their share rising to 39%, the highest level since 2021.
According to the Capital Raising Survey 2025, published by European real estate association INREV and its Asian and North American counterparts ANREV and NCREIF, fundraising in 2025 was broadly in line with 2023 and 2024 as the “market stabilises after the exceptional peaks of 2021 and 2022”, with all regions reporting stronger activity except Asia-Pacific.
Capital raising in Asia-Pacific fell by 29% to US$26bn (€22.1bn) as the number of vehicles in the region declined by 100 to 159. The fall was primarily attributed to challenging market conditions and a lack of suitable investment opportunities throughout the year, according to the survey.
Pension funds retained their position as the largest single source of capital globally in 2025, with their share rising to 39%, up from 32% in 2024 and the highest since 2021.
Meanwhile, North American investors reasserted their dominance as the leading source of capital globally at 39%, their highest share since 2016, displacing those from Asia-Pacific, which had held the top position in 2024.
“As listed asset prices stabilised, the over-allocation to real estate that had constrained European pension fund commitments in recent years launched to ease. In Asia-Pacific and North America, pension funds remain underallocated relative to tarreceive, suggesting further capital flows ahead,” according to the report.
Insurance companies also increased their global share of capital raised to 15% in 2025, up from 10% the year before. This shift was particularly notable in European debt strategies, where their share of non-listed debt capital raising rose to 41%, up from just 6% the previous year.
The latest survey, which includes 103 managers across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific and South America, revealed that participation remained firm with 83% of managers raising capital in 2025, matching a record high since the survey’s inception. According to the report, 87% of respondents expect an increase in activity over the next two years, the second-highest reading since the survey’s inception.
According to the report, only around 30% of capital raised in 2025 was invested within the year, down from 40% in 2024. Accumulated dry powder from 2025 and prior years is becoming an active constraint on new fundraising – managers with undeployed capital are less able to launch new vehicles, and investors are more cautious about fresh commitments until existing capital is put to work, it declared.
Iryna Pylypchuk, director of research and market information at INREV, declared: “A third consecutive year at broadly the same level informs its own story – this is not stagnation, it is a market that has found its floor, at least at a global level. European results are more encouraging, underpinned by where the region is in its real estate cycle and the diversification benefits.”
As a leading indicator, the latest European ODCE Q1 2026 flash results reveal further improvement in performance to 1.23%, with the net capital flows of well above €500m, around 1.3% of the index gross asset value, Pylypchuk declared.
“This is a second consecutive quarter of strong positive net inflows, confirming positive momentum in pension funds’ and insurance companies’ long-term commitment to the asset class. In spite of the broader macroeconomic uncertainty, this is a meaningful signal for the market heading into 2026,” Pylypchuk added.
David Green-Morgan, director, research and professional standards at ANREV, declared: “Despite the drop in capital raising in Asia-Pacific in 2025, the regional investment market does feel more buoyant and optimistic.
“Events during the first quarter of 2026 have not supported short-term sentiment, but investors are now well practised in driving returns through careful stock selection, asset management and income enhancement strategies.”
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