Mountain Dell: DST Fundraising Up Year-Over-Year More Than 50%

The equity raise for Delaware statutory trust offerings in May 2025 was approximately $619.56 million, a 5% bump from the $589.72 million equity raised in April, according to Mountain Dell Consulting.

“We are seeing a lot of 721 exchange-oriented activity with the larger sponsors that are in the space. It will depend on macroeconomic factors but if/when there is a sense of stability in the transaction markets with more consistent interest rates, I believe we will see more and more activity,” said Taylor Garrett, president of Mountain Dell Consulting.

“I see the market being close to $7.5 billion in equity by year’s end, which would put us just over the 2021 year which would be the second biggest year ever,” added Garrett.

For the year, the equity raise was just over $3.03 billion as of May 31, 2025. This was a 56.6% year-over-year increase from the approximate $1.94 billion raised at the end of May 2024.

To close out last year, DSTs raised nearly $5.66 billion, as of Dec. 31, 2024. This exceeded Mountain Dell Consulting’s $5.5 billion equity raise prediction for 2024 and was a significant 12% increase in equity raised compared to the low-end of the range $5.04 billion amassed in 2023.

In 2021, for context, DST sponsors raised $7.2 billion. This record year was surpassed a year later when DSTs attracted approximately $9.2 billion in 2022.

With approximately $590.1 million in total equity raised (20% of the market share), Ares Real Estate Exchange was the leader in sales year-to-date. According to Mountain Dell, other sponsors rounding out the top five and representing the highest percent of market share through the end of May 2025 were:

Inland Private Capital Corporation with a year-to-date tally of approximately $320.7 million (11%);

JLL Exchange with a year-to-date tally of approximately $305.7 million (10%);

Hines Real Estate Exchange with a total equity raise of approximately $302.8 million (10%); and

ExchangeRight Real Estate with a year-to-date tally of approximately $173.7 million (6%).

“1031 investors are making the conscious decision to get out of the day-to-day active management, and DST programs are becoming a more well-known option. The traditional DST marketplace is seeing a lack of new product as sponsors try to close on assets with such high variability with interest rates. I believe the second half of the year will be higher than the first half of the year,” said Garrett.

The largest offering amounts by programs added in May were industrial-focused. They included HREX 7 DST, a Savannah, Ga., asset sponsored by Hines Real Estate Exchange and seeking to raise nearly $209.6 million, and Blue Owl OREX III, DST, an industrial asset involving six states – Florida, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas – sponsored by Blue Owl Real Estate Exchange and seeking to raise more than $103 million.

As of the end of May, 45 active sponsors were offering 85 programs, according to Mountain Dell. Industrial and multifamily continued to be the most popular asset types, comprising 33% and 32% of all syndicated offerings, respectively.

Located in the Salt Lake City region, Mountain Dell Consulting is a consulting and research firm focused on real estate-oriented investment programs. It has sourced and compiled data on the securitized 1031 exchange market since 2003.

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