New Mountain Capital, a private equity firm with roughly $60 billion under management, agreed to buy Asset Living from Roark Capital in a deal valued at more than $2 billion, per Reuters. CEO Ryan McGrath invests alongside the buyer and continues to lead the company. William Blair advised on the process.

Asset Living manages multifamily, student housing, and affordable communities across more than 40 states. The transaction includes the firm's owned real estate and its proprietary technology platform — but the asset being priced here is contractual: recurring management fees across a national rent roll.

It is the second scaled CRE services platform to trade this year, following Savills' acquisition of Eastdil in March. Meanwhile, private equity's direct ownership of apartments keeps growing — nearly 3 million units by recent counts — giving managers like Asset Living a deepening institutional client base.

First, the multiple tells you where conviction lives. Fee businesses are clearing at premium valuations while much of the underlying real estate still trades below replacement cost. Capital is paying up for income that doesn't carry a mortgage, a maturity date, or a cap rate.

Second, this is a consolidation bet. Property management remains fragmented; technology is the forcing mechanism. A manager with proprietary systems and 40-state scale can absorb smaller books at incremental cost. Expect more roll-ups — and expect the buyers to be financial sponsors, not REITs.

Third, owners should read this as a negotiating-table shift. As management consolidates into fewer, larger platforms, the questions that matter get sharper: who owns the operating data, what does the fee actually buy, and what happens to service quality when your manager's shareholder is optimizing for platform EBITDA.

Fourth, the seller side matters. Roark is harvesting a multi-year roll-up at the top of the fee-platform bid. Disciplined sponsors are selling operating companies into this demand — the same way they sold buildings into the 2021 bid.

Owners and developers: expect fee compression to stall — scale buyers don't need to discount. Lenders: management quality is underwriting-relevant; platform consolidation cuts both ways. Investors: the public-private arbitrage in services is live; scaled fee streams have a deep private bid.

1. Commercial Real Estate Lending Activity Reaches Five-Year High. CBRE's Lending Momentum Index reached its strongest level since 2021, signaling increased lending activity across CRE sectors.

2. Commercial & Multifamily Borrowing Increased 52% in Q1 2026. MBA reported commercial and multifamily mortgage borrowing rose 52% year-over-year in the first quarter.

3. Kayne Anderson Closes $5.12 Billion Opportunistic Real Estate Fund. The firm announced the final close of an oversubscribed opportunistic equity fund with $5.12 billion in commitments.

4. CMBS Special Servicing Rate Reaches 11%. Trepp data shows the CMBS special servicing rate climbed to approximately 11% in May.

5. FDIC Reports Rising Nonperforming Commercial Real Estate Loans. The FDIC's Q1 banking report showed continued deterioration in nonfarm nonresidential CRE credit performance.

6. I Squared Acquires Data Center Portfolio From Cogent. I Squared Capital agreed to acquire U.S. data center assets from Cogent for approximately $225 million.

7. Edged Secures Nearly $2 Billion for U.S. Data Center Expansion. Edged announced approximately $2 billion in financing to support its U.S. data center development pipeline.

8. Prime Data Centers Breaks Ground on $3 Billion Phoenix Campus. Prime Data Centers started construction on three buildings within its $3 billion Metro Phoenix development.

9. PJM Accelerates Timeline for New Data Center Power Connections. PJM announced changes designed to speed up power delivery to large-scale data center projects.

10. AI Could Add 330 Million Square Feet of CRE Demand. Cushman & Wakefield projects AI-related growth could generate 330 million square feet of demand over the next decade.

11. JLL Arranges $300 Million Sale of FedEx Industrial Portfolio. A multi-state FedEx logistics portfolio traded for approximately $300 million.

12. Colliers Brokers $140 Million Industrial Facility Sale. A 1.6 million-square-foot industrial property in Tennessee sold for $140 million.

13. Newmark Arranges Sale and Financing of Logistics Portfolio. Newmark completed the sale and acquisition financing of a 1.38 million-square-foot shallow-bay logistics portfolio.

14. Industrial Asset in Northern Virginia Data Center Corridor Sells for $42 Million. Marcus & Millichap closed the sale of two industrial properties located within Northern Virginia's data center market.

15. ACRE Provides $351 Million Refinance for Multifamily Portfolio. ACRE supplied refinancing for a multifamily portfolio spanning four states.

16. HUD Expands Role in Multifamily Finance. HUD announced updates designed to increase its participation in multifamily lending programs.

17. Freddie Mac Issues Affordable Housing Forward Commitment. Freddie Mac provided a forward commitment supporting the development of new affordable housing in Arizona.

18. Avison Young Arranges $404 Million Permanent Loan in Manhattan. The firm secured financing for The Archive, a 479-unit multifamily property in Manhattan.

19. U.S. Office Vacancy Falls to 17.6%. Yardi Matrix reported national office vacancy declined modestly in April 2026.

20. Law Firms Continue Driving Premium Office Leasing. Savills reported legal-sector tenants remain among the most active users of high-end office space.