$8.41 billion. That’s how much equity the 1031 DST market raised in 2025, a 49% jump from $5.66 billion the prior year. Through the first 10 weeks of 2026, the pace had reached $1.89 billion, on track to surpass last year’s record if sustained. Record-setting volumes are coinciding with a significant reshuffling of market share among sponsors.
Blue Owl Capital climbed from sixth to third among DST sponsors during the same 10-week window, capturing 11% market share with $207 million raised. That kind of repositioning in a growing, increasingly competitive market says something about both the product and the distribution infrastructure behind it.
Why the Market Is Growing
Several forces are converging. Appreciated property values across the U.S. have created larger capital gains exposure for sellers. The tax deferral benefit of a 1031 exchange becomes more valuable in dollar terms as those gains increase. Large alternative asset managers (Blackstone, Ares, Hines, Brookfield, and Blue Owl Capital among them) have entered the space since 2022, bringing institutional underwriting, diversified multi-property portfolios, and UPREIT pathway structures that were previously rare.
Fortress Investment Group also launched a 1031 platform in March 2026. The sponsor count grew from 50 at year-end 2025 to 59 by mid-March. Nine new entrants in a matter of weeks.
Where Blue Owl Capital Fits
Blue Owl’s climb from sixth to third wasn’t driven by market expansion alone. The firm’s zero-leverage industrial approach through OREX V and its pathway into ORENT (the non-traded REIT that delivered 10.9% net returns in 2025) gave advisors a distinct product structure. ORENT ranked as the top net fundraiser among non-traded REITs in 2025, with inflows up 55% year over year.
A record market is attracting more participants. Blue Owl Capital’s ability to gain share against a growing field suggests the firm’s product design and advisor reach are resonating at a pace the competition hasn’t matched.
