2024 marked the first year that GRESB introduced Customized Peer Groups in the Real Estate Benchmark Reports, following an initial test phase in 2023.
Developed in response to industry feedback, this feature allows participants to review their predefined peer group, as allocated by GRESB, and, if relevant, create a customized peer group based on self-selected criteria such as location, sector, and fund size. The ranking for the customized peer group is displayed alongside the GRESB predefined peer group in the Benchmark Report.
Since launch, adoption of Customized Peer Groups has continued to grow. Building on participant feedback from previous cycles, GRESB will continue to offer the Customized Peer Group functionality in 2026, with an adjusted timeline designed to support earlier engagement in the results process.
Customized Peer Group functionality in 2026
The 2026 Real Estate Benchmark Report will continue to feature rankings against both the GRESB predefined peer group and an optional Customized Peer Group. These peer groups are provided solely for contextual comparison and do not influence an entity’s GRESB Scores.
Based on participant feedback, the customization window has been updated for 2026 to allow entities to begin reviewing and building customized peer groups earlier. Participants will be able to create and edit a customized peer group in the GRESB Portal between July 20 and August 15, 2026.
During this period, participants may explore the feature freely. If an entity determines that the customized peer group is not more relevant than the GRESB predefined peer group, it may choose not to confirm it. Only confirmed customized peer groups will be displayed in the Benchmark Report. If no customized peer group is confirmed by August 15, 2026, the Benchmark Report will display the predefined peer group only.
As part of the continued evolution of the feature, GRESB maintains transparency across asset types, geographical regions, and sectors to support more meaningful and relevant peer group comparisons.
The Customized Peer Group functionality is available exclusively to real estate participants.
Why customize your peer group?
Real Estate Assessment participants can now contextualize their results against a set of uniquely defined characteristics. Depending on the chosen characteristics, they can:
- Reveal its rank within a group that is more relevant to its investors’ goals
- Showcase its performance within a broader group of peers
- Demonstrate its position compared to a more selective set of entities
Participants may also add listed funds or remove individual peer group constituents to generate an even more precise group.