If it seems as though The Blackstone Group has been capturing an awful lot of investment dollars, that is because it has. Blackstone raised more over the past few years than any other real estate fundraiser, pulling in more than $27.2 billion across five funds from 2012 to 2014.  

Tom Masthay is director – real assets, with the Texas Municipal Retirement System.

Our conference production crew and I just returned from our Visions, Insights & Perspectives – Europe conference in Geneva. So what is the mood amongst investors across the pond these days? Generally, it’s pretty positive. Not upbeat, but positive.

Today, the conventional wisdom is the millennial generation is transforming real estate priorities and design. This group is going to live differently, shop differently, work differently and commute differently compared with any generation that has come before it. This month’s perspective is going to look at the “work” portion of that equation and speculate on some medium- and long-term impacts of the millennials, as well as some other specific factors relating to the office sector. 

Whether for office towers, hotels or residential buildings, investors have been flocking to New York City. 

Asia — especially China — has become a leading source for cross-border investment in real estate. A panel at the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate’s February conference took a look at Asian capital flows into the United States. 

While the industry buzz might be about the millennial generation, the opposite end of the demographic spectrum also is having an impact on commercial real estate. 

Falling gas prices are mostly a good thing, economically speaking; they keep a lid on inflation and put more money in consumers’ pockets. But a drop in the price of gas can put a dent in energy-focused Houston’s economy — and that should have commercial real estate investors taking notice.

A competitive investment environment and attractive performance by commercial real estate have created a tight capitalization rate market. In the second half of 2014, cap rates compressed for most property types, according to a new report by CBRE. 

The nation’s second-largest public pension fund, the $186.4 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System invested $1.17 billion in real estate during fourth quarter 2014, according to the system’s recent investment committee quarterly activity report.

When many investors think of “institutional property,” visions arise of trophy office towers, high-end shopping complexes or internationally recognized destination resorts. But in today’s market, add to that list plebeian waterfront properties in a growing number of port cities, including Los Angeles. 

The REIT structure has been expanding across the globe and, in the wake of the global financial crisis, a number of new REIT markets are opening up in the Americas, Asia and Europe. The introduction of REIT regimes in countries such as India, Ireland and Mexico, as well as the modernization of REIT structures in countries such as Spain, has widened the opportunity set for REIT investing around the globe. And investors continue to watch China, where the potential for REIT investment is huge.