Key takeaways from 2026 Visions, Insights & Perspectives (VIP) Americas

Walker & Dunlop joined the industry’s top investment managers, investors, and consultants to discuss returns, capital flows, and what sets top managers apart at Institutional Real Estate, Inc. (IREI)’s 2026 Visions, Insights & Perspectives (VIP) Americas conference.

The Walker Webcast was also broadcast live from the event, featuring economist Peter Linneman in the latest installment of his long-running series with Willy Walker. You can watch it here.

The clear takeaway from the conference was that investors still believe in real estate, but they expect it to look and act differently.

Here are some key points gleaned from the event.

Investors want performance and a collaborative culture

Investors now treat strong performance as a given, not a differentiator.

They want managers who:

• Deliver a consistent track record.
• Show a collaborative culture from the C-suite to the analyst level.
• Communicate clearly and often, especially when conditions change.

A key message at the conference involved drawing a sharp line between skepticism and cynicism. Great investors are skeptics, testing assumptions and pushing for clarity. While cynics shut down opportunity and react out of fear.

Liquidity must return before conviction does

Investors want more trades before they lean in. They need asset sales to restore liquidity and prove out values, but thin transaction volume leaves room for doubt on pricing.

At the same time, the room agreed that the last decade delivered unsustainably high returns. Last year, higher-return fund strategies captured 77 percent of final-close fundraising, according to data shared by IREI. In today’s rate environment, most expect more normal real estate returns, roughly in the 9–12 percent or 12–15 percent range, depending on risk profile.

That shift places greater emphasis on clear business plans, realistic projections, and execution.

Capital prefers credit and infrastructure, for now

Macro and political uncertainty in the United States continues to slow decisions for US-focused investments.

Key themes from VIP Americas:

• Political turbulence dampens activity. Uncertainty around policy and elections makes investors hesitate.
• Many institutions are still over-allocated to real estate. Slower markdowns have resulted in higher portfolio allocations in an illiquid environment. Yet many of the institutions that are under allocated are okay focusing on non-real estate private credit and infrastructure for the time being.
• Capital flows have favored private credit and infrastructure over real estate. Those investors that are moving back into real estate are focused on equity first.

General partner (GP) sentiment was that fundraising still feels tough. Capital started to move again in 1Q 2025, then slowed sharply in 2Q and stayed muted. In 2025, most capital raised was skewed toward opportunistic, not core, investments. Roughly 35 percent of capital went to mega funds, increasing concentration risk.

While some investors are still evaluating where real estate credit belongs in their portfolio, those with a dedicated sleeve for real estate credit are drawn to the current income and downside protection of private credit, while they continue to sort out valuation and liquidity in equities.

Real estate’s portfolio role is drifting and may need a reset

After 15 years of above-average returns driven by a falling yield environment, real estate’s role in institutional portfolios has morphed over time from a traditional core / core plus investment to more of an opportunistic play.

At VIP Americas, several limited partners (LPs) noted that real estate behaves like an opportunistic trade in many portfolios. Yet its historical use—and most aligned use—is as a core allocation, delivering stable income and moderate total returns. IREI data noted that only 9 percent of investment offerings launched in 2025 were core or core-plus, highlighting the relatively limited focus on traditional core strategies.

The recent value reset makes opportunistic strategies more attractive today, especially where managers can buy well, solve problems, and create value.

The practical takeaway: managers need to position their strategy clearly so that LPs are in alignment on their investment’s purpose in their portfolio.

LPs balance mega managers and niche specialists

Investors recognize the appeal, and the risk, of mega managers.

On the one hand, mega funds offer scale, institutional credibility, leading research driven investment themes, and the ability to handle large, complex deals. On the other hand, they create new questions:

• When mega funds exit, who is big enough to buy?
• How long does it take to fully liquidate the assets?
• Are continuation vehicles the new norm, extending hold periods well past a decade?

As a result, more LPs want to pair mega managers with niche specialists. Smaller managers can focus on tighter, higher-conviction strategies. Their deal sizes often offer cleaner exit paths and a wider buyer pool, and the relationship between GP and LP can feel stronger.

Expect more LP portfolios to follow a barbell approach, with a handful of large, diversified relationships plus targeted allocations to specialized managers.

Higher rates put asset management at the center

The new rate environment changes how managers create returns.

Investors at VIP Americas focused on growing net income rather than hoping for cap rate compression. They cited “higher-for-longer” interest rates as a core problem, alongside non-accretive or negative leverage, and restricted financing capacity, according to IREI data.  

Winning managers now:

• Create value by increasing income, not through leverage
• Finance properties conservatively and pay close attention to structural details
• Treat asset management as a primary value driver, not a back-office function
• Pursue leases, tenant relationships, and brokers aggressively
• Watch expenses closely and manage debt maturities early

In this cycle, you earn returns in the rent roll and operating statement, not just at exit.

AI is a platform, not a side project

AI talk at VIP Americas sounded very different from a few years ago.

Investors and managers increasingly see AI as a platform that changes how they work, with some comparing it to the internet.

They use AI to:

• Speed up market research and scenario analysis
• Stress-test underwriting assumptions
• Enhance revenue management and expense forecasting
• Spot patterns in tenant behavior, maintenance, and risk

The edge will go to managers who blend AI with strong data, clear processes, and human judgment, not those who chase every new tool without a strategy.

Walker & Dunlop stands ready to help you apply these themes to your portfolio, from financing and investment sales to capital advisory and strategic insight. Contact our experts to discuss how these themes may impact your next project.