Los Angeles is a city of contradictions: sprawling yet vertical, rent-burdened yet luxury-saturated, legacy-bound yet innovation-driven. It’s also a hotbed of real estate investment activity. In 2023, LA ranked among the top five U.S. cities for commercial property transactions, with over $24 billion in deal volume. While downtown LA has seen softening demand, areas like Culver City, West Adams, and the Arts District are seeing a renaissance, driven by creative office conversions, transit-oriented development, and tech-fuelled gentrification.

From private family offices to institutional capital allocators, the Los Angeles investor landscape is as diverse as its neighbourhoods. Some are backing luxury spec builds in the Hollywood Hills; others are pouring millions into affordable housing, modular construction, or the next great proptech SaaS company. If you’re building, renovating, fundraising or digitising real estate in LA, this list of active investors is for you.

• Caruso – Privately held real estate investment company behind The Grove, Palisades Village, and Americana at Brand. Founder Rick Caruso is known for creating lifestyle retail destinations and has recently begun exploring boutique hospitality investments.
• Kilroy Realty – A publicly traded REIT with a strong footprint across the West Coast. In LA, Kilroy owns several tech-anchored office assets in Hollywood and Playa Vista. They’ve also invested in sustainable building technologies and smart energy integrations.
• Kennedy Wilson – Headquartered in Beverly Hills, this global real estate investment company has billions under management and continues to acquire multifamily and office assets across LA County. Their value-add repositioning work includes projects in Burbank and Koreatown.
• Oaktree Capital Management – A massive global alternative investment firm with deep roots in LA. Known for opportunistic real estate strategies, including distressed debt, commercial property recapitalisations, and co-GP structures across Southern California.
• Los Angeles Opportunity Fund – Focused on investing in Qualified Opportunity Zones across LA, especially South Central and Boyle Heights. They’ve funded adaptive reuse projects and affordable housing developments with integrated community services.
• Urban View Investments – Privately held family office active in infill residential and small-scale mixed-use. Recent investments include an artist loft conversion project in Lincoln Heights and a micro-retail plaza in Highland Park.
• Thor Equities – Though based in New York, Thor has been highly active in LA’s Arts District and retail corridors. They’ve invested in both street-level retail and creative office space and are exploring life sciences real estate in the Pasadena area.
• Calstate Ventures – Real estate private equity firm focused on middle-market opportunities across LA. Invested in industrial-to-multifamily conversions in Commerce and Sun Valley. Known to co-invest with construction tech startups for execution efficiency.
• Trilogy Investment Company – Recently expanded into California, Trilogy has backed multifamily developments in Culver City and student housing near USC. Also an investor in property management automation tool Livo.
• AvalonBay Communities – With major projects like Avalon West Hollywood and Avalon Playa Vista, this REIT continues to bet big on Los Angeles. Currently piloting smart leasing and energy management tech across their LA portfolio.
• Gemdale USA – U.S. affiliate of one of China’s largest developers, Gemdale focuses on urban core development. In LA, they’ve developed projects like 9200 Wilshire and are actively seeking new acquisitions in West LA and DTLA.
• CBRE Investment Management – A heavyweight global player with substantial real estate assets across Southern California. Known to invest in life sciences, creative office, and logistics developments across the Inland Empire and LA metro.
• OpenPath (investor-backed) – LA-based proptech startup offering mobile access control. Backed by VC funds like Sorenson Capital and LPC Ventures, OpenPath has integrated into hundreds of office and mixed-use buildings across LA.
• Canyon Partners Real Estate – Based in LA, this investment manager focuses on opportunistic and value-add real estate strategies. Active in hotel repositionings and structured equity deals across SoCal, including adaptive reuse near Exposition Park.
• Brookfield Properties – Owns significant office and retail properties in Downtown LA, including Wells Fargo Center and FIGat7th. They’re also experimenting with modular retail pods and short-term leasing platforms for urban retail reactivation.
• Angel City Ventures – A collective of private investors and developers funding small-scale residential developments in Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Frogtown. Also active in the ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) space.
• VentureMark – A newer private equity shop funding tech-enabled real estate operating companies. They’ve invested in LA-based leasing startup Nestingly and provided GP capital for an industrial flex redevelopment in El Segundo.
• Mapletree Investments – Singapore-based investor with active development in the South Bay and Santa Fe Springs areas. Their logistics fund has acquired several last-mile facilities around LAX and Long Beach.
• Continental Realty Group – A family-run firm that recently shifted focus from Florida to California, targeting mid-market multifamily in under-supplied LA suburbs. Backed by high-net-worth capital and debt from local banks.
• Grove – A venture-backed co-ownership platform for single-family housing. Grove has gained traction in LA and Orange County, offering fractional home equity models. Backed by Fifth Wall and Initialized Capital.

Looking for more investor leads in Southern California and beyond? Check out DealStructuring.com – a practical guide to building investor-ready deals that actually close.

Some of the most exciting real estate startups emerging from LA’s ecosystem include Cover (off-site ADU construction), Mynd (tech-enabled property management), and Avenue 8 (agent-powered proptech). They’re not just reshaping the future of real estate – they’re attracting serious capital while doing it.

In LA, the real estate game is part cinematic, part scientific. Investors today aren’t just chasing skyline views – they’re chasing data, sustainability, and frictionless user experience. If you’re not building with that in mind, someone else is. The money’s here – the question is: are you investable?