March 7 (Reuters) - Blackstone has raised $8

billion in its most recent real estate debt fund, the world's

largest alternative asset manager said on Friday, a sign that

the property sector is seeing a recovery after a couple of

tumultuous years.

The fund - Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies V - will

be active in North America, Europe and Australia and make loans

and buy existing loans, according to the company.

Investors including Blackstone and wealthy individuals are

scouting for office properties in New York as companies call

employees back to the office, fueling a nascent recovery in the

battered commercial real estate market.

In Europe, soaring demand for high-quality offices is

pushing rents to records in central London, giving investors

cause for optimism even as overall office sale volumes remain at

multi-year lows.

Real estate investors, consultants and bankers say demand is

rising for top-quality offices in New York, spurring them to

strike more deals.

Blackstone's current office exposure accounts for less than

2% of its real estate holdings, versus more than 60% in 2007,

according to company data.