Starwood's woes reverberate to $59B Blackstone property trust

A $59 billion Blackstone Inc. property trust is contending with the fallout from a rival’s decision to enforce stricter limits on investors.

Repurchase requests by investors in Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust ticked up in May, according to a shareholder letter Monday, after rival Starwood Real Estate Income Trust tightened limits. Starwood’s decision further chilled investor sentiment about a real estate sector hammered by rising rates.

BREIT’s board agreed to allow the trust to exceed a 2% monthly limit in order to be able to fulfill all of its withdrawal requests in May. Across April and May, BREIT has returned about 4.4% of its net asset value to investors.

The trust has “no plans” to change its share repurchase program, according to the letter.

Property trusts have come under heightened pressure as real estate values have plunged. Last month, the $10 billion Starwood Real Estate Income Trust capped monthly redemptions at 0.33% of net asset value, down from its previous 2% monthly limit, as it faced a liquidity crunch.

Blackstone President Jon Gray said Starwood’s issues led more BREIT investors to ask for their money back.

“There’s been some news based on this SREIT dynamic that creates some increase in redemptions, but nothing like what we experienced back in the beginning of 2023,” Gray said at an investor conference in May.

BREIT’s outflow requests began to rise in late 2022 and the trust had to impose its limits as interest rates climbed and real estate values fell, threatening returns for investors in the trust that had been a major growth engine for Blackstone. In March, BREIT marked what appeared to be a milestone and allowed investors to withdraw as much as they wanted.

The firm said its requests declined until the last two weeks of May 2024, when SREIT set more restrictive limits on redemptions. Blackstone, without mentioning the REIT by name, tried to set itself apart from Starwood’s vehicle. BREIT said in the shareholder letter that its portfolio and liquidity — it can tap into about $7.5 billion — is “materially different” to its rival and cited its bets on data centers and student housing.

Total net returns at the Blackstone trust have fallen sharply since borrowing costs began climbing in early 2022. A popular share class of BREIT gained 2.2% through April of this year after a 0.5% loss in 2023.

The Starwood trust generated a total return of 1.67% this year through April, following a loss of 8.6% in 2023.