CRE Owners
A comprehensive guide to who owns commercial real estate
Understanding Commercial Real Estate Ownership
Commercial property ownership structure isn’t as simple as that of home ownership. Residential real estate tends to have a single owner or single family owner. Commercial real estate often has a complicated ownership structure that involves multiple people, REITs (real estate investment trusts), LLCs, and even joint ventures. In this guide, we answer the questions:
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How do I find commercial real estate owners?
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How can I find commercial real estate property records?
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Does a private equity real estate investment firm own this property?
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What do real estate investment firms do?
Commercial property includes industrial complexes, office buildings, undeveloped land, warehouses, and more. Property ownership records are public in the U.S., although accessibility varies from municipality to municipality (many are online, but some smaller districts require in-person requests). This guide explains not only the types of entities that own commercial real estate, but also where to find them.
If you’re looking to partner with an investment firm, offer your services to a building owner, or are just looking to expand your network, understanding how to connect with CRE owners will provide a lot of value.
Who Owns Commercial Real Estate?
Commercial real estate owners are the companies, firms, investment funds, and trusts whose names are on the deed to a property. Local governments maintain public records of who owns properties, so it’s fairly straightforward to see who owns a property; however, understanding CRE ownership can be far more complicated.
CRE ownership typically falls into four categories: private investors, investment firms, corporations, and governments.
Private investors
A private investor is a person or entity that leverages their capital to purchase commercial property. Unlike publicly traded firms, private investors are not listed on stock exchanges and are not subject to public reporting requirements. Examples include individual investors, family offices, private companies, and private equity firms or funds — though these institutional private investors may still be accountable to limited partners or other stakeholders.
Private investors can take a hands-on approach with the properties they own. But sometimes a private investor may delegate the management of a property to an asset or property management firm.
Private investors may have purchased commercial real estate as a long-term investment that serves as a hedge against inflation or riskier investments. Because of this, private investors are usually interested in long-term growth.
Investment firms
Unlike private investors who may operate independently or through small partnerships, institutional investment firms manage pooled capital from multiple investors and follow structured investment models.
REIT
A real estate investment trust (REIT) holds a portfolio of real estate assets that produce income for its investors. Most REITs are publicly traded on stock exchanges, allowing individuals to invest in real estate through purchasing shares. However, REITs can sometimes be privately owned. The income that the REIT generates is distributed to the stakeholders in the form of dividends.
REIF
Real estate investment funds (REIF) are similar to mutual funds in that they invest in REITs and other CRE-related stocks. A real estate fund pools a diverse set of REITs and is managed by an investment firm. REIFs invest in real estate-related securities (including REITs and stocks) and typically do not hold direct ownership of the physical properties. Therefore, they have no interest in day-to-day operations.
Private equity
Private equity in real estate refers to investment firms or funds that pool capital from a limited group of investors to acquire, develop, or manage commercial properties. Private equity represents a smaller group of stakeholders and may focus on developing, renovating, or holding certain classes of commercial property.
Corporations
Corporations that do not specialize in CRE investment and development may own property. This is especially common if they operate out of that specific property, as it offers greater control over costs and flexibility to renovate, develop, and expand around their businesses. Corporate ownership can be structured in various ways for tax purposes, affecting how income and losses are allocated to shareholders.
Examples of corporate ownership of CRE include Walmart, which owns many of its retail locations; Amazon, which owns many of its distribution centers; and Microsoft, which owns data centers and office complexes.
Governments
Governments own a wide range of commercial real estate, including administrative buildings, transportation hubs, utility infrastructure, and public parks. These properties are typically held long-term to support public services, government operations, or community use. In some cases, government-owned CRE may be leased to private entities, such as retail tenants in transit stations or food vendors in public parks.
Governments may also temporarily hold commercial properties acquired through foreclosure or legal seizure — often due to unpaid taxes or code violations. These properties are usually sold later through public auctions or local land banks.
With so many different types of owners, how do you find out who owns a specific piece of property? Learn more about finding CRE property owners here.
Three Institutional Types of CRE Ownership
CRE Private Equity
Our database includes 3,349 companies and 105,471* professionals in the United States whom we identified as private equity investors.
Where can you find private equity investors in the United States?
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Midwest (12 states): 494 companies, 38,623 people
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Northeast (12 states): 1,070 companies, 60,544 people
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Southeast (12 states): 818 companies, 44,271 people
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Southwest (4 states): 619 companies, 50,519 people
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West (11 states): 961 companies, 63,674 people
CRE private equity investors asset experience
You'll find more than 20 real estate asset categories in the Biscred database, labeled as “asset experience.” This refers to the types of commercial real estate equity investing, such as:
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Hospitality: 917 companies and 55,708 people who invest in or have ownership stakes in hospitality CRE.
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Industrial: 1,165 companies and 66,242 people who invest in or have ownership stakes in industrial type of CRE.
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Multi-Family: 2,194 companies and 82,005 people with investment or ownership in multifamily CRE housing.
*Biscred updates its database continually, so these numbers are likely to change.
Real Estate Investment Firms
Real estate investment firms (REIF) invest their own capital into private real estate projects, but will often solicit capital from institutional investors and private equity firms on a project-by-project basis. REIFs do not raise capital via funds; they raise capital to fund projects, and the funds are used only on those projects. In Biscred's database, it isn't unusual for a REIF to also be categorized as a developer or operator; indeed, many REIFs are also CRE developers and operators.
The Biscred database includes 22,291 real estate investment firms and 381,911 people affiliated with REIFs.
Where can you find commercial real estate investment firms?
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Midwest (12 states): 3,965 companies and 71,668 people
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Northeast (12 states): 5,852 companies and 100,365 people
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Southeast (12 states): 5,710 companies and 138,849 people
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Southwest (4 states): 3,105 companies and 95,942 people
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West (11 states): 5,160 companies and 108,774 people
CRE real estate investment firms' asset experiences
Among the 20+ asset categories in Biscred's database, these three are examples of REIFs connections by asset experience:
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Healthcare: 2,531 companies and 54,488 real estate individuals with experience in healthcare CRE investing
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Mixed-Use: 5,309 companies and 98,869 people
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Retail: 7,641 companies and 123,991 people
REIT -- Real Estate Investment Trusts
Biscred defines a real estate investment trust as an investment vehicle that allows individuals to invest in real estate without having to directly own, operate or finance the properties. Most REITs are public companies and provide investors opportunities to diversify their investments. REITs are considered to be more liquid than REIFs.
Our database includes 336 REITs and 32,314 people affiliated with REITs.
Where can you find REITs?
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Midwest (12 states): 65 companies, 9,121 people
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Northeast (12 states): 147 companies, 14,841 people
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Southeast (12 states): 90 companies, 13,926 people
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Southwest (4 states): 57 companies, 9,995 people
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West (11 states): 91 companies, 16,199 people
REITs' asset experience
These three are examples (from more than 20 asset categories) of REIT connections by asset experience:
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Life sciences: 26 companies with 2,342 people
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Office: 130 companies and 8,725 people
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Healthcare CRE: 67 companies and 4,844 people
What Roles Do CRE Owners Play?
Commercial real estate owners are concerned with the bottom line of an asset’s profitability, but may not always take an active role in day-to-day property management. Vendor coordination, tenant management, and general building upkeep are usually delegated to a property manager or management firm. Therefore, your business may not always be relevant to a CRE owner, even if they own the property. This post explains who CRE decision makers are.
What decisions do CRE owners typically make across the asset lifecycle?
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Acquisition
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Financing
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Leasing strategy
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Capital improvements
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Disposition
Biscred’s smart datasets can help you filter CRE owners and find key data for targeting owners who are at a stage of the asset lifecycle that’s relevant to your business. For example, if you’re a developer, you may find a successful business arrangement with a CRE owner that’s developing a new leasing strategy.
Examples of Private Equity, Real Estate Investment Firms and REITs found in Biscred's Prospecting Database
Blackstone
Blackstone is considered one of the largest commercial real estate owners in the world with more than $339 billion assets under management, according to their website. The Blackstone REIT, based in Manhattan, is a real estate income trust with an estimated 12,000+ properties in its portfolio. Its asset experience includes affordable housing, industrial properties, senior living housing, office, retail and more. Roughly 85% of its portfolio is in rental housing, industrial and data with 25% in multifamily housing (source: breit.com).
MLG Capital
This private equity firm is headquartered in Wisconsin and has offices in Dallas, Denver and Sarasota. Biscred' database identifies asset experience in four categories: multifamily, retail, office and industrial. Their properties have an estimated 92 commercial property investments, 46,000 multifamily units, 52.8M square feet and a value estimated at $8.3B, according to their website.
Flintco
This real estate investment firm, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has over 450 properties in its portfolio, mostly in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Colorado and Tennessee. As is common among REIFs, in addition to serving as an REIF, Flintco serves as a developer, general contractor and operator of commercial real estate projects. Areas of asset experience include office, industrial, government, life sciences, multifamily, parking, aviation, hospitality and more.
*CRE companies and people have locations and projects in multiple locations. Biscred's data analysis team is continually updated, validating, adding and removing records from our online CRE prospecting tool, which means the numbers shared here may differ from what you see when you sign up for a Biscred demo.
FAQs About CRE Ownership
What is the difference between owner-occupied and investment property?
Owner-occupied CRE refers to property purchased and used by a business for its own operations, rather than leased from another asset owner. Corporations will sometimes purchase the property they plan on operating out of to maintain greater control over the space. Investment properties are managed to maximize profitability for investors or stakeholders. While owner-occupied properties are mindful of costs, their primary focus is on operational efficiency and business needs. So, who do you contact at an owner-occupied property for business opportunities? Start with the asset manager or business operations manager.
What is the difference between direct ownership and joint ventures or syndicate ownership?
The main difference among ownership types is the number and types of entities involved in the property’s investment and ownership. Direct ownership involves an individual or single entity assuming all the risk and profit for a property. Joint ventures involve two entities (like an investor and a developer), and syndicate ownership involves pooling capital from multiple private investors, often through a lead sponsor.
For those looking to do business with a CRE owner, the difference is in the priorities of the stakeholders. A syndicate owner will need to approve a partnership on behalf of the investor. A direct owner may be willing to accept less or more risk individually, depending on their priorities. Joint ventures will typically operate a clearly defined goal in mind.
What are single-asset ownership and portfolio ownership models?
Single-asset ownership is defined as a structure where an individual or entity owns a single property, typically through a separate legal entity like an LLC. This model isolates financial and legal risk to that one asset and simplifies management, liability, and taxation for the owner. Benefits include privacy to the investor, a simpler management structure and personal liability protection. In other words, an investor can set up separate LLCs for each piece of commercial property that they own so that financial or legal liabilities tied to one property don’t impact the others.
Portfolio ownership refers to a structure where a fund or firm holds multiple commercial properties under a single entity. This model enables operational scale and can attract more investment capital, such as through a REIT. However, it also concentrates risk — a problem with one asset can potentially impact the performance or value of the entire portfolio.
How can I find out who owns a property?
Commercial property ownership is publicly recorded, as the property’s value is assessed for its tax purposes. Therefore, the county assessor most commonly has records of commercial property owners. But, is the property owner who you really need to contact? Find out how to search for commercial properties here.
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