CBRE Investment Management Research Reveals Global Real Estate Secondaries Market Reaches US$24.3 Billion in 2024

CBRE Investment Management (CBRE IM) has released new research revealing that value of transactions closed in the global real estate secondaries market reached a record high of approximately US$24.3 billion in 2024 - a 3.8% increase from 2023.

The findings are based on CBRE IM’s proprietary AI-enhanced data collection methodology. This methodology combines real-time transaction scraping, internal deal logs, and expanded definitions of secondaries to provide a more accurate and comprehensive view of market activity.

The more inclusive definition reflects the evolution of the real estate secondaries market, as general partners increasingly leverage this market for business and enterprise planning, further driving the market’s expansion.

The research highlights that:

• GP-led secondaries accounted for 65% of total market activity (US$15.8 billion), driven by liquidity needs and investor demand for targeted exposure.
• LP-led secondaries represented 32% of the market (US$7.7 billion), offering investors a path to rebalance portfolios and access liquidity.
• Controlled equity/debt transactions made up the remaining 3% (US$0.9 billion), often arising from capital markets distress.

The granular data reveals that from a regional perspective, North America led transaction volume, followed by Continental Europe and the UK. Sector-wise, multifamily and industrial assets dominated activity, reflecting broader market resilience and investor appetite.

Kilian Toms, Managing Director of the Real Estate Partners Strategy at CBRE IM, commented: “Our analysis of the scale of the market highlights the critical role real estate secondaries are playing as a way to execute real estate transactions for both buy-side and sell-side investors. With fewer primary market sales of prized assets, secondaries have allowed investors to access high-performing, top-quality assets and capitalise on market dislocations to secure discounted valuations.

The real estate secondaries market is no longer niche. As a firm executing a dedicated secondaries strategy, and with real estate at the core of our business, we benefit from a uniquely granular and bespoke dataset. By leveraging this information advantage, we’re able to aggregate and analyse transaction activity at a level of detail that bridges the gap between commonly accepted estimates and the true scale of the market.”

This press release is accompanied by a research paper outlining the methodology, data sources, and market analysis. The paper provides deeper insights into the evolving structure of the real estate secondaries market and the technology-driven approach CBRE IM has adopted to enhance transparency and accuracy.

About CBRE Investment Management
CBRE Investment Management is a leading global real assets investment management firm with $155.3 billion in assets under management* as of June 30, 2025, operating in 20 countries around the world. Through its investor-operator culture, the firm seeks to deliver sustainable investment solutions across real assets categories, geographies, risk profiles and execution formats so that its clients, people and communities thrive.

CBRE Investment Management is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2024 revenue). The company has more than 140,000 employees (including Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE Investment Management harnesses CBRE’s data and market insights, investment sourcing and other resources for the benefit of its clients. For more information, please visit www.cbreim.com.

*Assets under management (AUM) refers to the fair market value of real assets-related investments with respect to which CBRE Investment Management provides, on a global basis, oversight, investment management services and other advice and which generally consist of investments in real assets; equity in funds and joint ventures; securities portfolios; operating companies and real assets-related loans. This AUM is intended principally to reflect the extent of CBRE Investment Management’s presence in the global real assets market, and its calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other asset managers and from its calculation of regulatory assets under management for purposes of certain regulatory filings.