The PERE Podcast

Starwood Property Trust’s $2.2 billion purchase of Fundamental Income Properties – a 467-asset, US sale-leaseback platform established by Brookfield five years ago – is just the latest example of real estate managers’ insatiable appetite for net-lease strategies. Given the promise of long-term, resilient and predictable income typically associated with these portfolios, it is not difficult to see why. But how does momentum for net-lease fit into the bigger picture as private real estate market participants adapt to a changing market? This episode dives into that very question, bringing together PERE Deals editor Guelda Voien, PERE Credit editor Samantha Rowan, PEI real estate editor-in-chief Jonathan Brasse and host Greg Dool to analyze not only this latest blockbuster deal, but what it suggests about the types of defensive strategies investors and their asset managers are embracing in an uncertain environment. Also joining the program is Josh Shandell, a senior vice-president at Brookfield who played a key role in Fundamental Income Properties’ formation and its sale to Starwood, to share the mega-manager’s view on net-lease investments – and why this $2.2 billion exit is by no means the last we will hear from Brookfield in the space. Read more about Starwood’s push into the sector in PERE Deals (registration required).

MF1, a joint venture between Berkshire Residential Investments and Limekiln Real Estate, closed its third CLO this year and 21st overall securitization as of May 31, 2025. The transaction comes as CRE CLO issuance is rebounding. The first half of 2025 saw almost five times the issuance rate as the same period of 2024, according to data from the CRE Finance Council, a New York-based trade group. In this episode, PERE Credit editor Samantha Rowan speaks to Berkshire's Jon Pfiel and Limekiln Real Estate's Scott Waynebern about the partnership's CRE CLO activity and how an increase in bridge lending is helping to fuel MF1's growth.

On its face, PERE’s just-released first-half fundraising report brings welcome news to the private real estate sector, revealing that capital commitments to the asset class jumped 16 percent from H1 2024. After a multi-year slowdown, is fundraising ramping up again? Or is there more to the story? In this episode, join host Greg Dool, PERE editor Evelyn Lee and PERE Asia-Pacific reporter Christie Ou as we dive into the results – including a pair of Blackstone mega-funds and bright spots for both data centers and Asia-focused vehicles – and what they suggest about investors’ evolving view of the asset class. Listen for updates on the managers that closed on the largest capital hauls during the first half of 2025, the investors that backed them, headwinds for industrial vehicles and the rise of specialist funds targeting other emergent sectors. The team looks ahead at the next group of funds headed for a final close in the coming months, including massive vehicles being raised by Brookfield and Starwood Capital Group, among others. Read the full H1 fundraising report here.

Madison Realty Capital, one of the first real estate private credit funds, has been originating a series of loans that are changing city skylines. The most recent of these were in New York. In mid-May, the company funded a $720 million loan to finance the conversion of the former Pfizer headquarters into a 1,600-unit apartment complex. And earlier this month, a joint venture between Madison Realty and a Kushner Companies joint venture funded a $525 million construction loan for the development of Court LIC, a planned 55-story condo in New York's Long Island City submarket. But loans like these are only a part of Madison Realty Capital’s activity. In this episode, Josh Zegen, co-founder of the New York-based company, discusses the different ways Madison Realty Capital participates in commercial real estate deals, how that has expanded since its inception in 2004, and where the firm is allocating capital from its latest real estate private equity fund.

Real estate is a people business, and this month, PERE is highlighting those that have made their mark on the asset class. On this episode, we take a deep dive into PERE’s second-ever Most Influential list, ranking the individuals who've made the biggest impact on private real estate over the 10-year period since we last compiled such a list in 2015. Numerous forces have reshaped the industry during the intervening decade – a global pandemic, a sector reshuffling, the proliferation of debt funds and the emergence of numerous new sources of capital – and the ranking reflects each of these trends in different ways. Listen as host Greg Dool sits down with PEI Group’s real estate editor-in-chief Jonathan Brasse, PERE editor Evelyn Lee and PERE Credit editor Samantha Rowan for a breakdown of the key takeaways, as well as an inside look at the process behind the list and what it says about real estate’s evolution as an asset class. Enjoy the rest of our PERE 20th anniversary content here.

Is “defense” the next major theme in private real estate? Are sector-based investment strategies outdated in the current market cycle? How can allocators and their asset managers act with conviction in an era of deglobalization, trade tension, inflation, recession risks and interest rate volatility? In this episode, PEI real estate editor-in-chief Jonathan Brasse speaks with François Trausch, chief executive and CIO of PIMCO Prime Real Estate, to discuss these questions and more in an exclusive breakdown of the Newport Beach, California-based manager’s latest annual real estate market outlook. Listen as Brasse and Trausch discuss real estate’s evolving place in investors’ portfolios, focusing on resiliency across property sectors, why traditional investment strategies need to be reconsidered at a time of “structural” uncertainty, and much more. For more, read our coverage of PIMCO’s latest real estate outlook and tune into last week’s episode.

The fraught macroeconomic climate and its impact on property markets has been a regular topic of The PERE Podcast as investors allocate capital in a deglobalizing world. This week the spotlight is on geopolitics, as escalation in the Middle East and rising defense budgets in Europe portend significant consequences for global property markets. On this week’s episode, host Greg Dool sits down with PEI’s real estate editor-in-chief Jonathan Brasse, PERE Deals reporter Sarah Marx and Real Estate Capital Europe deputy editor Lucy Scott for a look at how private real estate investors and managers are adapting. We also feature parts of an exclusive interview with François Trausch, chief executive of PIMCO Prime Real Estate, who shares context around the Newport Beach, California-based asset manager's latest white paper Bend, Not Break: Investing in Real Estate Amid Economic Uncertainty. What might rising tension mean for inbound investment in the Middle East? Will increased spending on defense and infrastructure, as pledged by NATO members this week, create opportunities for fund managers? Tune in for what we are hearing this week from market participants as the situation unfolds. Listen above and tune in next week for the full interview with Trausch.

In this episode, we break down the key takeaways from the PERE Network Europe Forum 2025. Some 200 market participants representing private real estate’s top institutional investors, asset managers, lenders and advisers came together at the two-day event in London last week to trade insights and strategies amid rapidly changing global property markets, and we have all the details. Listen as host Lucy Scott sits with PEI’s real estate editor-in-chief Jonathan Brasse and Real Estate Capital Europe editor Daniel Cunningham to explore the conference’s biggest themes, including Europe’s position as a beneficiary of shifting capital flows, where managers are finding opportunities in market volatility and the types of strategies that are resonating most with institutional investors. The wide-ranging conversation features mentions of the perspectives shared by conference speakers including Brookfield chief executive Bruce Flatt, Blackstone managing director David Gorleku, Patron Capital partner Henry Randolph, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan senior managing director Jenny Hammarlund and many more. Enjoy the dispatch, and catch last week’s episode featuring Flatt’s fully unabridged keynote talk here.

This episode is sponsored by Bouwinvest Real Estate Investors The Dutch residential market has remained resilient despite economic turbulence and rising interest rates and is now emerging as a prime destination for international investors. In this episode, Paul van Stiphout of Bouwinvest Real Estate Investors and Jorrit Arissen of Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management unpack the forces driving the market’s strength – from a deep-rooted rental culture and robust occupancy levels to increasing demand for senior and student housing. With the Netherlands facing a housing shortfall, Van Stiphout and Arissen discuss how foreign capital will be essential to bridge the gap. They also explore how demographic trends and public funding cuts are creating opportunities in niche sectors, such as senior living, which saw investment jump to €724 million in 2024.

Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield Asset Management, shares his wealth of experience in real estate investment strategies. He discusses the growing importance of unlisted property in institutional portfolios and how to adapt to current market challenges. Flatt highlights Brookfield's innovative capital solutions and their role in managing risk. The conversation also dives into the potential of artificial intelligence in investment, showcasing its benefits for decision-making and operational efficiency. His insights offer a forward-looking perspective on navigating the dynamic real estate landscape.