anothercfainnyc

My guess is it would be to reduce the variability in marking the position and be less exposed to unfavorably marking to market. The main difference is public vs. private.

I believe LPs also offer tax benefits in the form of allowing pass through of losses which can then be used to offset taxable gains.

...then I think there are master limited partnerships that are publicly traded and conduct RE activity. I'm not sure how these fit in, though it doesn't look like that's what you're asking about.