Explain the key characteristics of investing in private real estate

Each property is unique and immovable, lot sizes are large and indivisible, transaction costs are high, and assets are illiquid and valued by appraisal. Buildings need active management and often use leverage. Investors choose among property types (office, retail, industrial and logistics, multifamily, hotels) and among forms of ownership: direct holdings, private funds, joint ventures, or debt such as commercial mortgages. Strategies range from core, which means stabilised, low-leverage and income-driven, through core-plus and value-added repositioning to opportunistic development with high leverage. Lease terms shape the income: net versus gross leases, lease length, indexation and tenant credit quality. The trap is grouping all private real estate as a single risk. Opportunistic development behaves nothing like core offices.