A total of 27 private equity real estate funds recorded final closings during fourth quarter 2014, according to Institutional Real Estate FundTracker. And, same as in 2013, what the group lacked in number of funds, it made up for in fundraising volume. The 27 funds collectively raised $25 billion of equity capital, with an average fund size of $900 million. The annual total is the highest since 2008 at $134.9 billion. The year 2014 showed mostly strong closings every quarter, but fourth quarter pushed up the year-end totals. Despite having fewer fund closings in 2014 (105 fund closings) than in 2013 (135 fund closings), 2014 raised aggregate equity capital of $88 billion, a 11 percent increase from 2013’s total of $79.2 billion.

This past year, like 2013, was another year of large fund closings. Leading the charge in the fourth quarter was The Blackstone Group with its Blackstone Real Estate Partners Asia, which raised $5 billion in equity commitments. The