📢Good morning,

Cottonwood Group closed a $1.0B U.S. special-situations real estate fund, doubling its $500M target in a decade-low fundraising climate. Roughly $300M is already deployed, mainly senior loans with equity options, posting a 20% IRR. With $2T of CRE debt maturing by 2027, the strategy is aimed at bridging refinancing gaps where banks have pulled back

📊 Quick Dive

Starwood Locks $930M CMBS Refi for Industrial Portfolio
Starwood refinanced 8.2MSF across 54 logistics assets with a $930M CMBS at SOFR+200. The portfolio is 88% leased to 230 tenants, with rents ~20% below market. LTV is ~57% with embedded mark-to-market upside. Syndicate lenders include Goldman, Barclays, and UBS, underscoring continued liquidity for industrial even as base rates stay high.

Apartment Rents Stall Nationwide
U.S. average rent fell –0.23% in August to $1,713, leaving YoY growth at +1.0%. Nearly 950k new units in 2024–25 pushed vacancy to ~7.2%. Sunbelt metros like Austin (–4.7% YoY) and Phoenix (–3.1%) are leading declines, while San Francisco (+6.2% YoY) and Chicago (+3.9%) outperform amid tighter pipelines.

Luxury Hotels Outperform While Economy Segments Slip
Luxury hotel RevPAR rose +3% YTD through July, with ADR up a similar pace. Economy hotels fell nearly –2% as price-sensitive travelers cut trips. Capital continues to chase luxury, with recent prime trades at sub-6% cap rates. Operators of limited-service assets face margin compression from labor and expense inflation.

Distress capital is scaling up. Cottonwood’s $1B close signals institutional LPs are ready to fund rescue capital plays at steep terms. For operators, this means two things: (1) well-structured turnaround plans with ≤60% LTV can attract financing, but expect preferred returns and control rights; (2) capital stack discipline matters more than headline pricing. Industrial remains the cleanest credit execution path. Multifamily sponsors in oversupplied markets must pivot to occupancy defense and renewal retention, not rent growth.