Private real estate fundraising numbers are in for first quarter 2018, and they’re sure to put smiles on the faces of industry investment managers. In fact, 2018 has started out the same way record-breaking 2015 did, but better. First quarter 2018 saw 25 private-equity real estate funds record final closings, raising an aggregate total of $32.8 billion, according to IREI’s FundTracker database.

A total of 37 new investment funds were launched during first quarter 2017, the lowest number of funds since the launch of 33 funds in third quarter 2015. This lower number of funds launched trend is common in the second and third quarters but hasn’t happened in a first quarter since before 2010.