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J.P. Morgan Asset Management has released its eighth annual Global Alternatives Outlook, providing a 12- to 18-month outlook across key alternative asset classes, equipping investors to make tailored portfolio decisions. This year’s report details high-conviction ideas as private markets mature into a structural mainstay of global finance.

Walton Global has acquired 56 residential lots in Los Lunas, N.M.

Gen Z is rapidly gaining financial power and reshaping the luxury market, with real net worth for U.S. households ages 18–34 up an estimated 170 percent since 2019 and global spending projected to soar from $2.7 trillion in 2024 to $12.6 trillion by 2030, according to Newmark’s recently released report Luxury Retail: Meet Gen Z.

Build-to-rent (BTR) housing, once a niche investment concept, has evolved into a mainstream sector driven by demographic demand, affordability pressures and a rapidly expanding development pipeline.

NEPC, an investment consultant and outsourced CIO, has announced the appointment of Tim McCusker as president, effective Jan. 1, 2026.

In today’s fast-evolving real estate debt market, the reemergence of banks, shifting capital structures, and the lingering effects of legacy portfolios have reshaped both competition and opportunity for private lenders. In an interview with IREI, Chris Thomas, managing director at Blue Light Capital, West Coast originations, offers an inside perspective on how these dynamics are influencing institutional real estate investors, outlining why banks are returning, how private lenders are positioning themselves, and what institutional partners value most in the current environment. He also explores emerging trends in transitional and hospitality lending, the growing premium on execution certainty, and why clean-balance-sheet lenders are increasingly well positioned as the market recalibrates.

The State Board of Administration of Florida (SBA) has committed $283 million to two joint ventures, including accounts managed by Heitman and Invesco.

The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) has committed up to $100 million to Blue Owl Real Estate Fund VII.

Noble Investment Group has acquired a portfolio of 35 Sonesta Simply Suites totaling more than 4,000 rooms across 19 states and 25 markets, with concentrations in high-growth Sun Belt and corporate-demand corridors.

Buchanan Capital Partners (BCP), has capitalized a 423,852-square-foot industrial development in the Piedmont Triad (Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point) market of North Carolina.

Walker & Dunlop, Inc.’s annual survey, conducted at the Affordable Housing Finance (AHF) Live conference, revealed a notable optimism in investment activity uptick and enthusiasm in HUD’s role in supporting housing construction.

Kern County (Calif.) Employees Retirement Association (KCERA) has committed $100 million to real estate funds, including vehicles managed by Fortress Investment Group and Merit Hill Capital.

The New Mexico State Investment Council (SIC) has committed $500 million to real estate funds.

Blackstone Credit & Insurance has formed a forward flow origination partnership with Harvest Commercial Capital, a small business lending firm, to acquire business loans secured by first lien mortgages on owner-occupied commercial real estate.

The Federal Reserve concluded its December 2025 meeting with the Federal Open Market Committee voting to cut interest rates by 25 basis points — a decision with implications for real assets investors.

The North Carolina Retirement Systems has committed $700 million to real estate funds in November, including vehicles managed by LBA Realty, Northpond Partners and Benefit Street Partners.

The Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) has committed $125 million to Cabot Industrial Value Fund VIII, a vehicle of Cabot Properties.

CBRE has released its inaugural European Hotels Destination Index – a deep-dive, data-driven analysis of the top 66 hotel investment markets across Europe. The review scores destinations across a range of key structural market pillars, macroeconomic fundamentals and certain qualitative attributes of appeal.

Global real estate investment turnover is set to surpass $1 trillion in 2026, up 15 percent on 2025; the first time this barrier has been breached since 2022, according to Savills World Research.

Gresham House, the specialist alternative asset manager and one of the world’s largest commercial forestry managers, announced the first close of its Sustainable International Forestry Strategy Platform at more than €250 million ($291 million), anchored by commitments from both Worcestershire Pension Fund and NGS Super. NGS Super’s investment represents the first Australian superannuation fund investor in a Gresham House Strategy Platform, marking an important step in the further globalization of the firm’s natural capital platform.