As 2024 drew to a close, industry watchers were identifying a resurgence in real estate fundraising activity — and the first quarter of 2025 saw a significant uptick in real estate fund closings and capital raised.

The slowdown in 2023 and 2024 — amid rising interest rates, falling valuations and a weak transaction market — saw a decline in fund closings. Investors pointed to limited capital distributions holding them back from making new commitments to the asset class. In addition, fundraising periods were extended, contributing to overall lower totals for fund closes in the past few quarters.

That changed in the first quarter of 2025, as the IRE.IQ database tracked 25 real estate investment funds holding final closes, raising a total of US$43 billion. By comparison, only 17 real estate funds held a final close in the fourth quarter of 2024, with a total capital raise of US$11.5 billion. In all of 2024, 72 real estate investment funds held a final close, raising