A total of $138 billion was returned to investors in private real estate funds in 2013, an all-time high, a Preqin report said.
It is more than double the $67 billion distributed to investors the previous year, and exceeds the $92 billion in real estate commitments.
Eighty-two percent of real estate fund managers in Preqin’s survey said interest in real estate investment has increased in the past 12 months. Preqin said the higher capital distributions will help bolster the private real estate market because investors are able to reinvest previously unavailable cash.
“The increase in valuations in many real estate markets around the world, and improving confidence leading to a good supply of potential buyers, has enabled fund managers to realize many of their investments,” said Andrew Moylan, Preqin’s head of real assets products, in a news release.
“2013 was a record year in terms of distributions to investors and the first year since 2003 in which the amount of capital distributed to limited partners exceeded the amount of capital called up to make new investments,” Mr. Moylan added.
