🏆 Manhattan investment sales for trophy assets heat up
🏭 Brookfield lines up a $6.5B industrial play
🏡 Rate relief fuels demand for US home sales
🔧 Upcoming Workshops: AI in Underwriting
📚 Upcoming Courses: Intro to Development, Fundamentals of CRE

Data Viz of the Week: A Demographic Shift

Migration trends don't just impact real estate prices and investment priorities. They also shift the political landscape.

The continued population shift from blue states suffering from high housing costs to development-friendly red states is on track to hurt Democrats politically in the next reapportionment of congressional seats following the 2030 census, with blue states currently on track to lose 10 seats—and their corresponding electoral votes.

For Democratic politicians, the window is closing to adopt policy changes that would reduce rent burdens and avert a significant loss of political power.

Upcoming Thesis Driven Courses & Workshops

•  📣 LAST CALL - February 2: 5-Week Course: Fundamentals of Real Estate Development (💻 Online): A 5-week interactive bootcamp for aspiring real estate entrepreneurs that simulates the underwriting, design and financing of a local real estate project. - $1,299

• February 9: 5-Week Course: Fundamentals of CRE (💻 Online): A 5-week interactive bootcamp providing an insider’s view of “a day in the life” of key industry stakeholders with real-world insights and applications.. - $1,299

• February 20: Workshop: AI in Underwriting (💻 Online): A two-hour ​workshop for investors, developers, lenders, and operators exploring how AI is being applied to real estate underwriting—from deal screening to IC memos.- $299

Three Articles We Loved from Last Week

It’s not easy keeping up with everything. Here are three articles we loved from the past week that you may have missed:

1. (The Real Deal) Manhattan Commercial Sales Surge in Early 2026

   Investment activity in Manhattan commercial real estate kicked off 2026 strongly, with several major office and retail trades closing in January and early February. Buyers are increasingly targeting stabilized Class A properties and trophy assets, while distressed office deals remain limited as pricing gaps between buyers and lenders narrow. The uptick reflects renewed institutional confidence in gateway city CRE, even as broader markets remain selective.

2. (Reuters) Brookfield Nears $6.5B Deal for U.S. Industrial Portfolio

   Brookfield Asset Management is in advanced talks to acquire a major U.S. industrial property portfolio for approximately $6.5 billion from global institutional investors, according to sources familiar with the matter. The portfolio includes logistics and distribution centers concentrated in e-commerce and last-mile markets. If completed, the deal would be one of the largest industrial real estate transactions of early 2026, reflecting continued demand for well-located logistics assets.

3. (WSJ) U.S. Existing-Home Sales Climbed in January

   U.S. existing home sales rose in January for the second consecutive month, pushed by modestly lower mortgage rates and persistent buyer demand in affordable markets. Single-family and condo transactions increased across several regions, though inventories remain near multi-decade lows, keeping pressure on pricing. Analysts say lower borrowing costs may sustain demand if economic growth stays steady.

Developer of the Week: Witkoff Group

Witkoff Group, alongside Access Real Estate, secured a $525 million refinancing for One High Line, its two-tower mixed-use development in Chelsea, Manhattan.

Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, the project includes 236 luxury residences and the 120-key Faena Hotel New York, Faena’s first NYC outpost. The property spans the High Line, offers 18,000 square feet of amenities, and has generated over $1.1 billion in condominium sales since launch.

You can read more about Witkoff on the Thesis Driven GP database here.

Know about a developer doing something cool? Reach out to [email protected] with the tip!

Investor of the Week: Kensington Stern

Kensington Stern is a Utah-based family office focused on selective investments across real estate, venture capital, and other asset classes. The firm operates from Salt Lake City and co-investments with other family offices, high-net-worth investors, and experienced real estate sponsors rather than managing outside third-party capital. 

Within real estate, Kensington Stern employs a value-add investment approach, targeting assets that are undervalued, under-managed, or under-utilized and creating value through operational improvements, superior management, or redevelopment. The firm has expressed particular interest in multifamily, student housing, hotel-to-workforce housing conversions, manufactured housing, medical office, and ground-up development projects in the United States. 

Kensington Stern typically co-invests alongside trusted partners and experienced operators, leveraging its network to source and structure opportunities. Its real estate strategy is thesis-driven with a focus on achieving strong internal rates of return (targeting ~25% IRR for real estate) and often targets investment horizons of approximately five years, though longer holds can be considered for compelling assets or markets. 

Get more details on Kensington Stern, including team contacts, deal activity, and investment preferences, inside the CapitalStack database.

—Brad and Paul