North America-focused commercial private equity real estate (PERE) funds raised just $23bn through 47 closures in H1 2020, a sharp fall from 152 funds that secured $83bn in 2019 as a whole.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the North American commercial real estate market hard. PERE fundraising reached a peak in 2019, as funds secured $83bn, and seemed to be set to m