2015 Top Owners: Rising Occupancy

You can also read our 2017 Top Owners and 2016 Top Owners rankings.

With more than $600 billion worth of assets, the firms on 2015’s list of Top Owners control much of the real estate across the country and around the globe. While the size of their portfolios continues to expand, the quality of assets and tenants makes these owners truly special. Most of them have an active multifamily presence. Average occupancy across all asset classes increased to 92.7 percent, up a healthy 40 basis points from last year’s survey. These firms also increased their focus on investing abroad. While smart money continues to flock to U.S. real estate for safety, U.S. investors are looking overseas for value in emerging markets. Roughly 8.2 percent of their space is international—up from 6.2 percent last year. 

The average debt carried on these portfolios is 42.5 percent, in line with last year. But it looks like decision makers have been putting historically low interest rates to use: Just under 25 percent of properties have financing expiring in the next three years, while in 40 percent of cases it will expire in the next five years. Last year, 28 percent of properties had financing expiring within three years and 44 percent over the next five. Visit the Research Center for the full list of respondents and MHN Radio for a podcast discussion on the changing nature of ownership and insights into which companies are making big moves.

Methodology

Variables factored into the ranking include information about portfolios, historic performance, size and regional dominance of holdings, occupancy dynamics, class and quality of properties, LEED certification, development plans, and other items, adjusted for differences across sectors and locations.

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