Family Offices Snap Up Real Estate Bargains as Investors Sit on Sidelines

While institutional investors and publicly traded real estate companies remain cautious amid elevated interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty, family offices representing some of the world's wealthiest individuals are aggressively pursuing real estate acquisitions, snapping up multifamily apartment complexes and commercial properties at significant discounts to recent valuations.

The divergence between family office activity and the broader investment market has become one of the defining features of the current real estate cycle. Private wealth vehicles, which are not beholden to quarterly earnings expectations or public market scrutiny, are taking advantage of the distress and uncertainty that has sidelined more traditional buyers.

According to data from real estate analytics firm MSCI Real Assets, family offices have been involved in approximately $18 billion in U.S. commercial real estate transactions in the first quarter of 2026, a 45 percent increase from the same period last year. Meanwhile, overall commercial real estate transaction volume remains approximately 30 percent below pre-pandemic norms, reflecting the caution that has gripped institutional investors.

The acquisitions are concentrated in two segments that have experienced the most pronounced price declines. Multifamily apartment buildings, particularly in Sun Belt markets that overbuilt during the pandemic-era construction boom, are trading at 20 to 30 percent discounts from their 2022 peaks. Office buildings in secondary markets, where remote work has permanently reduced demand, are available at even steeper discounts, with some properties trading at less than half their pre-pandemic assessed values.

Several prominent family offices have made headline-grabbing purchases in recent weeks. The investment office of a Middle Eastern royal family acquired a portfolio of 12 apartment complexes totaling more than 3,500 units across Texas and Georgia for approximately $650 million, roughly 25 percent below what the properties were appraised at two years ago. A European industrialist's family office purchased three office towers in Nashville and Charlotte at prices that represent a 40 percent discount to their most recent sales.

The strategy is rooted in a conviction that the current dislocation is temporary and that real estate fundamentals, particularly in the multifamily sector, remain strong. Family office investors point to continued population growth in Sun Belt markets, a national housing shortage that exceeds 4 million units, and the expectation that interest rates will eventually decline as reasons to buy now rather than wait.

The opportunity exists in large part because many current property owners are under financial pressure. Landlords who purchased buildings or refinanced at low interest rates during 2020 and 2021 are now facing loan maturities that require them to refinance at dramatically higher rates, often creating cash flow problems that force sales. Banks and other lenders have also been disposing of real estate collateral from troubled loans, adding to the supply of discounted properties.

Not all family office bets are paying off. Some early buyers in the office sector have seen values continue to decline as remote work trends prove more durable than initially expected. And the Iran war has introduced new uncertainty into the market, pushing mortgage rates higher and dampening the consumer confidence that drives apartment demand.

Real estate advisors say the family office activity could presage a broader recovery in transaction volumes. Historically, contrarian buyers who move first during periods of dislocation set price floors that eventually attract more risk-averse institutional capital. If family offices are willing to buy at current prices, the argument goes, it suggests that values are approaching levels where broader investor interest will return.

The trend also reflects the growing influence of family offices in global financial markets. The number of single-family offices worldwide has grown from approximately 6,000 in 2019 to more than 10,000 today, according to wealth management consultancy Campden Wealth. Collectively, these offices manage more than $6 trillion in assets and have increasingly shifted their allocations toward real estate and other real assets as a hedge against inflation and market volatility.