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An investment firm backed by Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein has launched a new fund to invest in commercial real estate, as falling property prices have created buying opportunities.
Declaration Partners is seeking to raise $400M to invest in multifamily and industrial properties as part of the firm's second real estate fund, Bloomberg reported. Rubenstein, who is the largest backer of the New York-based firm, provided an anchor allocation along with other investors from the firm's first fund.
The first fund also targeted multifamily and industrial properties. It closed in 2022 with $240M raised from wealthy individuals and family offices from the U.S., Middle East and Latin America.
This first fund's investments included an industrial property in the Inland Empire, California, an apartment complex in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a student housing joint venture project in Pittsburgh.
Last year, the firm acquired a 442-unit multifamily property in Pittsburgh and provided preferred equity financing for a 364-unit property near Chicago, Bloomberg reported.
Rubenstein, speaking in June at Bisnow's D.C. State of the Market event, said that the distress in the office market has also created major opportunities for investment.
"I would say the best single investment that I know of today is probably going to be commercial real estate debt in downtown office buildings, buying it from the banks when the banks want to get it off their books," Rubenstein said.
While multifamily and industrial haven't been as hard hit as office, both still experienced significant drops in pricing last year as rising interest rates took a toll on the industry. According to Green Street's Commercial Property Price Index, apartment property prices ended the year down 30% from their peak, while industrial prices were down 16%.
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