In the meantime, other private equity firms have started pushing deeper into real estate, Bloomberg reports. Blackstone Group is aiming to raise a new $10 billion real estate fund this year, while Carlyle is raising a new fund aimed at U.S. properties.
According to Preqin, 439 private equity real estate funds are now seeking $160 billion, the largest number it has ever recorded.
They may be timing the market just about right. The distress is still obvious, but the commercial real estate market seems to be bottoming out finally.
The big private equity firms seem to have digested the losses and are willing to strike out anew with revamped efforts. The biggest competition may come from REITs, which drew $47.5 billion in capital in 2010. That's close to the record of $49 billion, achieved in 2006.
Read more: Private equity eyes real estate as near-term future - FierceFinance http://www.fiercefinance.com/story/private-equity-eyes-real-estate-near-term-future/2011-04-20#ixzz1KDGy1Nrm
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