Capital watch: First quarter fund closes near $3bn

Commercial real estate debt funds in North America raise $2.97bn in Q1 2023, showing resilience amid shifting market conditions.

Managers raising capital for North American-focused commercial real estate debt funds closed two funds totaling $2.97 billion of capital in the first quarter of 2023, writes Samantha Rowan. Harbor Group International raised $1.6 billion for its HGI Multifamily Credit Fund and Mesa West Capital garnered commitments of $1.37 billion for Mesa West Real Estate Income Fund V.

The amount of capital raised is less than the $9.15 billion in commitments for debt funds garnered in the first quarter of 2022, but higher than the $2.54 billion seen in 2021 and the $2.04 billion tracked in 2020, according to data from Real Estate Capital USA.
There is an active group of managers in the market raising capital now, with Berkshire Residential Investments continuing to garner commitments for a targeted $3.5 billion fund and Bridge Investment Group seeking commitments of $2.5 billion for its fifth debt-focused fund. Other managers raising capital include Pennybacker Capital, FCP and Marathon Asset Management.