Formation and Organization	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
Formation and Organization
Formation and Organization	1. Formation and Organization NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (the "Company") was formed on January 26, 2009 and elected to qualify as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") beginning with the taxable year ended December 31, 2010. The Company was organized primarily to originate, acquire and asset manage a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate ("CRE") debt, securities and other select equity investments. CRE debt investments may include first mortgage loans, subordinate mortgage and mezzanine loans and participations in such loans and preferred equity interests. CRE securities will primarily consist of commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS") and may include unsecured REIT debt, collateralized debt obligation ("CDO") notes and other securities. The Company is externally managed by NS Real Estate Income Trust Advisor, LLC (the "Advisor") and has no employees. The Advisor uses the investment professionals of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (the "Sponsor") to manage the business. The Sponsor is a diversified commercial real estate investment and asset management company publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and was formed in October 2003. Substantially all business is conducted through NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust Operating Partnership, LP, the operating partnership (the "OP"). The Company is the sole general partner of the OP. The initial limited partners of the OP are the Advisor and NorthStar OP Holdings, LLC (the "Special Unit Holder"). The Advisor invested $1,000 in the OP in exchange for common units and the Special Unit Holder invested $1,000 in the OP and has been issued a separate class of limited partnership units (the "Special Units"), which are collectively recorded as non-controlling interests on the consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012. As the Company accepts subscriptions for shares, it will transfer substantially all of the net proceeds from its continuous, public offering to the OP as a capital contribution. As of March 31, 2013, the Company's limited partnership interest in the OP was 99.97%. The Company's charter authorizes the issuance of up to 400,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.01 per share and 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.01 per share. The board of directors of the Company is authorized to amend its charter, without the approval of the stockholders, to increase the aggregate number of authorized shares of capital stock or the number of shares of any class or series that the Company has authority to issue. On March 4, 2009, the Company filed a registration statement on Form S-11 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") to offer a minimum of 200,000 shares and a maximum of 110,526,315 shares of common stock in a continuous, public offering, of which 100,000,000 shares are being offered pursuant to the primary offering (the "Primary Offering") and 10,526,315 shares are being offered pursuant to the distribution reinvestment plan (the "DRP") and are herein collectively referred to as the Offering. The SEC declared the Company's registration statement effective on July 19, 2010 and the Company retained NorthStar Realty Securities, LLC (the "Dealer Manager"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Sponsor, to serve as the dealer manager of the Primary Offering. The Dealer Manager is responsible for marketing the shares being offered pursuant to the Primary Offering. In April 2013, the board of directors of the Company authorized the reallocation of shares available to be offered pursuant to the DRP to the Primary Offering. As of May 13, 2013, 11.9 million shares remain available for sale under the Primary Offering and 8.3 million shares remain available for sale under the DRP. From inception through May 13, 2013, the Company raised gross proceeds of $928.1 million from the Offering, including proceeds from the merger with NorthStar Income Opportunity REIT I, Inc. completed on October 18, 2010 as a reverse merger and recapitalization (the "Merger Transaction").

1. Formation and Organization

NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (the "Company") was formed on January 26, 2009 and elected to qualify as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") beginning with the taxable year ended December 31, 2010. The Company was organized primarily to originate, acquire and asset manage a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate ("CRE") debt, securities and other select equity investments. CRE debt investments may include first mortgage loans, subordinate mortgage and mezzanine loans and participations in such loans and preferred equity interests. CRE securities will primarily consist of commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS") and may include unsecured REIT debt, collateralized debt obligation ("CDO") notes and other securities. The Company is externally managed by NS Real Estate Income Trust Advisor, LLC (the "Advisor") and has no employees. The Advisor uses the investment professionals of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (the "Sponsor") to manage the business. The Sponsor is a diversified commercial real estate investment and asset management company publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and was formed in October 2003.

Substantially all business is conducted through NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust Operating Partnership, LP, the operating partnership (the "OP"). The Company is the sole general partner of the OP. The initial limited partners of the OP are the Advisor and NorthStar OP Holdings, LLC (the "Special Unit Holder"). The Advisor invested $1,000 in the OP in exchange for common units and the Special Unit Holder invested $1,000 in the OP and has been issued a separate class of limited partnership units (the "Special Units"), which are collectively recorded as non-controlling interests on the consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012. As the Company accepts subscriptions for shares, it will transfer substantially all of the net proceeds from its continuous, public offering to the OP as a capital contribution. As of March 31, 2013, the Company's limited partnership interest in the OP was 99.97%.

The Company's charter authorizes the issuance of up to 400,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.01 per share and 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.01 per share. The board of directors of the Company is authorized to amend its charter, without the approval of the stockholders, to increase the aggregate number of authorized shares of capital stock or the number of shares of any class or series that the Company has authority to issue.

On March 4, 2009, the Company filed a registration statement on Form S-11 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") to offer a minimum of 200,000 shares and a maximum of 110,526,315 shares of common stock in a continuous, public offering, of which 100,000,000 shares are being offered pursuant to the primary offering (the "Primary Offering") and 10,526,315 shares are being offered pursuant to the distribution reinvestment plan (the "DRP") and are herein collectively referred to as the Offering. The SEC declared the Company's registration statement effective on July 19, 2010 and the Company retained NorthStar Realty Securities, LLC (the "Dealer Manager"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Sponsor, to serve as the dealer manager of the Primary Offering. The Dealer Manager is responsible for marketing the shares being offered pursuant to the Primary Offering. In April 2013, the board of directors of the Company authorized the reallocation of shares available to be offered pursuant to the DRP to the Primary Offering. As of May 13, 2013, 11.9 million shares remain available for sale under the Primary Offering and 8.3 million shares remain available for sale under the DRP.

From inception through May 13, 2013, the Company raised gross proceeds of $928.1 million from the Offering, including proceeds from the merger with NorthStar Income Opportunity REIT I, Inc. completed on October 18, 2010 as a reverse merger and recapitalization (the "Merger Transaction").