2025 Top Commercial Real Estate Owners

You can also read our other Top CRE Owners rankings.

Key: O=Office, I=Industrial, R=Retail, H=Health Care, Ho=Hospitality, X=Other

Though we make every effort to include all major commercial real estate owners, several notable firms (among them Hines, Prologis, Blackstone and SL Green) did not participate this year.

To be included in upcoming surveys, email Agota Felhazi at agota.felhazi@cpe-mhn.com.

Casting a Wide Net for Investment Success

Firms on Commercial Property Executive’s 2025 Top Owners ranking continued to grow their portfolios in 2024, with an emphasis on both asset and geographic diversification. 

The average portfolio on our ranking was comprised of at least three property types. Only six of the top 30 portfolios are centered on a single property type. Overall, the average share of industrial properties increased compared to the 2024 ranking, office decreased and retail held steady. 

Most companies on the list stretched their footprint across multiple regions throughout the U.S., and 10 of them also maintained an international presence. Sustaining a healthy occupancy on a large scale can be challenging, but for the owners who reported occupancy figures the average came to 89.1 percent. This marked a drop compared to the 2024 average of 91.7 percent. The softening was mostly due to office drag and normalization in other sectors.  

Overall, there was a slight deleveraging among owners reporting. The average debt per value ratio fell amid banks limiting CRE exposure and investors preferring equity positions during the survey period. The average share of green assets per portfolio was slightly up with sustainability still making its mark on the commercial real estate market. 

CBRE Investment Management has once again claimed the leading position, boasting a broad portfolio worth more than $115 billion and close to 654 million square feet. Clarion Partners followed with 289.6 million square feet valued at approximately $60.7 billion. AEW Capital Management secured third place with 232.9 million square feet and a portfolio valued at $65.5 billion.  

Detailed insights into this year’s top 10 can be found below.

1. CBRE Investment Management

CBRE Investment Management held firm at number one. In 2024, the investment management firm’s portfolio decreased by some 47 million square feet, but the value rose by $6.5 billion. Overall, CBRE IM trimmed the share of industrial assets in its portfolio and added to the share of retail holdings. In a move that further diversified its holdings, CBRE IM acquired a stake in a 2.4 GW portfolio of battery storage assets across Texas and California in early 2025. ENGIE North America kept its controlling interest in the 31-project portfolio.

2. Clarion Partners

Clarion Partners remained in second place. The real estate investment company’s footprint dropped to some 290 million square feet from more than 296 million square feet held in 2024. The value of the portfolio also eased year-over-year. Clarion increased the share of industrial assets owned, while reducing exposure to other sectors, mainly office. Notable recent transactions for Clarion included the $150.7 million sale of a creative office campus dubbed i|o at Playa Vista in West Los Angeles.

3. AEW Capital Management

AEW Capital Management maintained its third place. The real estate investment manager increased its commercial real estate footprint by almost 21 million square feet, while also increasing the value of the portfolio by more than $2.1 billion. AEW also reduced the share of office assets among its ample holdings, while focusing on expanding the number of industrial assets. In July, the firm closed a $1.8 billion fund targeting sectors such as multifamily, senior housing, industrial and retail.

4. W. P. Carey

W. P. Carey earned fourth place, improving from fifth in 2023. The REIT reported a 178-million square foot portfolio valued at $22.1 billion. Clocking in at 98.2 percent, W. P. Carey had the highest portfolio occupancy among all 30 companies on the list. In 2024, the company’s portfolio looked significantly different than it did in 2023, when the company announced it was selling off its 87 office properties. The disposition was completed last year, and the company has increased its industrial assets and trimmed its retail holdings as well. In 2025, the REIT completed approximately $1.3 billion in investments and $875 million in dispositions as of September.

5. MetLife Investment Management

MetLife Investment Management ascended to fifth place, up from seventh in 2024. The institutional asset management arm of MetLife increased its commercial real estate footprint by more than 12 million square feet and added $693 million to its portfolio value. Overall, MIM mostly maintained its asset mix year-over-year. However, the $1.2 billion acquisition of PineBridge Investments, which is expected to close by the end of the year, will also grow MIM’s real estate portfolio.

6. Majestic Realty

Majestic Realty pushed to sixth place, up from eighth in 2024. The owner increased its portfolio by 1 million square feet entirely through development and nearly doubled the share of green assets compared to 2024.Active since 1948, Majestic was also one of the 2024 Top Commercial Developers, having delivered 14.5 million commercial real estate space between 2021 and 2023. Overall, the company’s portfolio skews heavily toward industrial, and they keep sustainability at the forefront as they.

7. Tishman Speyer

Tishman Speyer ranked seventh this year, down from the sixth spot on the 2024 ranking. The global real estate firm streamlined its portfolio, reducing its footprint from 61.7 million square feet to 53.6 million square feet. While Tishman Speyer increased its share of life science properties, the company still had the largest share of office assets among the top 10. It also had one of the largest numbers of green assets throughout its portfolio. Key transactions for Tishman included the $2.9 billion refinancing of The Spiral office tower in Manhattan, after securing a $3.5 billion CMBS loan for Rockefeller Center campus last October.

8. First Industrial Realty Trust

First Industrial Realty Trust advanced to eighth place, up from 10th in 2024. The company is one of the few on the ranking that specializes in a single asset class, boasting a portfolio of more than 68 million square feet of industrial space valued at $7.9 billion. As an operator and developer of logistics space, First Industrial also earned a spot on the 2025 list of Commercial Property Management Companies as well as on the 2024 ranking of top Commercial Real Estate Developers.

9. Lincoln Property Co.

Lincoln Property Co. rose to ninth place, up from 11th on the 2024 ranking. The company decreased its footprint by 800,000 square feet compared to the previous ranking while reshuffling the mix of assets. The share of office space in Lincoln’s portfolio increased, while the share of other asset classes, including data centers and life sciences, decreased. The company is both an owner and a developer. Recently, Lincoln completed its first ground-up industrial project in Nevada totaling 1.6 million square feet.

10. Federal Realty Investment Trust

Federal Realty Investment Trust, a new entry on the Top Commercial Real Estate Owners ranking, closes out our top 10. The REIT had a portfolio spanning more than 27 million square feet, mostly concentrated in retail assets with a dash of office. Federal Realty continues to diversify its holdings through both investments and developments. In June, the REIT entered Kansas City with the $289 million acquisition of two open-air retail centers.

Methodology

Commercial Property Executive’s 2025 Top Commercial Real Estate Owners ranking utilized self-reported data for all firms. The ranking results from a weighted formula based on a variety of factors (only a few of which being specified here), including total square footage owned, owned portfolio value, historic performance and a focused or diversified participation in property sectors. The ranking represents what we feel is a balanced combination of firm growth, market share and property diversity. All data is as of June 30, 2025.

—Agota Felhazi, Senior Associate Editor

Read the November 2025 issue of CPE.