Investment manager KINGSTONE Investment Management, in collaboration with the Family Office Real Estate Day organised by RUECKER EVENT, has published the second KINGSTONE Family Office Real Estate Report 2026. For the study, 34 family offices from the DACH region were surveyed regarding their current investment strategies in the property sector. The survey demonstrates that real estate, accounting for a portfolio share of 53.7 per cent, remains by far the most significant asset class for large private fortunes. Compared with the previous year's 56.5 per cent, this represents a slight decline of 2.8 percentage points. The second-placed asset class is equities with a share of 19.6 per cent, reflecting a minimal increase of 0.2 percentage points.
Dr Tim Schomberg, CEO of KINGSTONE IM, underlines that real estate continues to form the backbone for wealthy families. With an allocation of more than half of their total wealth, family offices remain considerably more active in the real estate sector than many institutional investors.
Significant drop in Germany exposure in favour of international markets
Although Germany remains the primary target market, representing 76.5 per cent of total real estate assets, exposure to the domestic market contracted noticeably. In 2025, the German share still stood at 88.3 per cent, marking a decline of 11.8 percentage points within one year. At the same time, allocations to the rest of Europe rose to 12.6 per cent (an increase of 6.7 percentage points) and to the US to 9.0 per cent (up 3.6 percentage points).
Philipp Schomberg, co-founder of KINGSTONE IM and CEO Poland, explains that this development reflects the trend towards broader geographical diversification. Many family offices that previously focused heavily on Germany are deliberately widening their acquisition radius abroad, with locations in the United Kingdom and Poland frequently cited by client contacts in particular.
Sectors, return expectations and investment volumes
Across the property types, the residential segment dominates with a share of 37.0 per cent, ahead of office properties at 22.7 per cent, which recorded a slight decline of 2.3 percentage points. Mixed-use residential and commercial buildings account for 13.5 per cent, whilst retail properties rose perceptibly by 5.8 percentage points to 12.1 per cent. With regard to overall performance, expectations range from 4.0 to more than 10.0 per cent total return per year. Around 35.3 per cent of investors target 5.5 to 7.0 per cent, whilst around a quarter anticipate 7.0 to 8.5 per cent.
For the next twelve months, around a third of respondents plan to maintain a constant allocation, whilst 41 per cent aim for a slight or substantial portfolio expansion and 26 per cent intend a reduction. When it comes to planned new investments over the next three years, distinct volume brackets emerge:
- —38.2 per cent of respondents plan to invest between 5.0 and 10.0 million EUR annually in real estate.
- —23.5 per cent anticipate an annual new investment volume of between 10 and 20 million EUR.
- —14.7 per cent intend to allocate between 20 and 50 million EUR per year.
- —5.9 per cent target tranches of 50 to 100 million EUR, whilst no participant plans annual investment volumes exceeding 100 million EUR.
As Dr Tim Schomberg notes, the planned annual investment totals in the three-year outlook are overall somewhat smaller than in previous surveys, although commitment to tangible real estate assets is fundamentally being maintained at a high level.
