Arabic version: باين للعقارات ترى الاضطراب دافعاً للأصول البديلة
According to Cnbc, Bain Capital’s head of real estate Ryan Cotton says repeated macroeconomic shocks have made the property market difficult to navigate. Cotton, who oversees $18 billion in real estate assets under management, said transactions have faced value retrades at the 11th hour, pulled deals and slower market volume as investors seek to reset valuations.
Cotton said the market is also working through oversupply in several sectors that followed extremely low interest rates earlier this decade. At the same time, changing demand patterns—including artificial intelligence’s effect on logistics, supply chains and offices—are reshaping where wealth is created and spent. He described those forces as a “cocktail of disruption” for the industry, affecting both the value of existing holdings and decisions over future capital allocation.
Bain approaches the market as a long-term investor rather than a spot trader of assets, Cotton said. The firm evaluates real estate over a 10-year period and focuses on secular demand drivers. That approach, he said, steers Bain away from offices, malls and some multifamily markets with out-migration or oversupply, while directing attention toward alternative and emerging property classes.
Cotton identified senior housing, self-storage and student housing as established alternative categories. He also highlighted private airplane hangars and marinas for boats and yachts, citing wealth concentration, asset scarcity and supply barriers. He said such assets can produce double-digit net operating income growth. Cotton pointed to Atlantic Aviation, the second-largest private airplane hangar platform in the United States, and Safe Harbor, the country’s largest marina platform, which was bought by Blackstone this year.
He said the share of global real estate assets invested in multifamily, office, retail and industrial has fallen from roughly 93% a decade ago to 82%. Seven of the world’s 10 largest REITs are now in alternative sectors, including data centers and senior housing, he said. Cotton compared market swings to Benjamin Graham’s “Mr. Market” concept, arguing that investors should focus on creating value until markets regain balance.
