1. Kazakhstan: Hotels benefit from state tourism programs
In 2024, the average occupancy of branded hotels in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, and Tashkent, the capital and largest city in neighboring Uzbekistan, set new records as government efforts to expand the inflow of foreign tourists are starting to pay off.
Kazakhstan's tourism industry has been booming since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, the country welcomed 2.3 million foreign visitors, compared with only 1.6 million in the previous year and 330,000 in 2021. As part of a tourism industry development program launched in 2023, the number of foreign tourists to Kazakhstan is projected to reach 4 million by 2030. In 2024, the average occupancy in five-star hotels in Almaty reached 67.6%.
2. UK: Tritax buys Blackstone logistics property in sign of demand
Blackstone, the world's largest owner of commercial property, has sold £1.04 billion of assets to United Kingdom industrial investor Tritax Big Box REIT, partly in exchange for a significant stake in the business. Tritax said it has exchanged contracts to buy a high-quality portfolio of logistics assets from real estate funds advised by affiliates of Blackstone Europe.
The acquisition is expected to be completed this month as Tritax seeks to build up its flexible logistics pipeline. In a sign of demand for industrial property, the transaction comes less than two months after Tritax Big Box lost out in a bidding battle with Blackstone for Warehouse REIT, with Blackstone agreeing to a £489 million takeover of the United Kingdom mid-box industrial investor.
3. France: Property 'increasingly operational,' KKR's Morelle says
From offices to housing, hotels and even logistics, the American giant KKR approaches the real estate asset class with an operating company strategy in line with its private equity DNA. Stéphanie Morelle, head of KKR's European Core+, Real Estate Private Equity, outlined to Business Immo Global the advantages it sees in a more operational approach to real estate investment.
"In our portfolio of 10 operated offices in France, we have observed net revenues some 30% higher than those of a conventional office, after deduction of" costs from the operating company, she said. "This choice of operated office is also more economical for users, with comparable services in the early years."
4. Germany: Hotel investments continue to boom
The German hotel investment market shows strong performance after three quarters of 2025. According to calculations by international brokers, this results in a transaction volume of €1.3 to €1.6 billion for the first nine months — over 40% more than a year earlier.
In addition to 35 individual transactions, JLL counted five portfolio deals, the largest of which was the sale of 17 Ibis and 8 Mercure hotels by Blackstone to the operator Event Hotels, brokered by the brokerage firm. Real estate firms expect strong sales in the final quarter and thus annual results of more than €2 billion. “It is highly likely that this asset class is now at the beginning of a new cycle,” said BNP Paribas Real Estate.
5. Canada: Vancouver rezones thousands of properties
The Vancouver City Council approved sweeping changes to its zoning and development bylaws as part of an effort to streamline and speed housing construction. It's rezoning 4,292 parcels in the city's high-growth Broadway and Cambie corridors into three new districts to eliminate the need for zoning hearings for each proposed project.
City staff told the council that the changes will enable developers to bypass one of the biggest delays in Vancouver’s housing pipeline, cutting as much as a year from the approval process. Provincial and local governments across Canada have tried a variety of approaches to increase residential construction as the country grapples with a housing shortage.
6. US: How hotels, property pros deal with reduced tourism
Las Vegas businesses are taking new steps to cope with a months-long visitor slump as consumers grow jittery over slowed hiring and shifting tariffs, with hotels, casinos and restaurants piling on the special offers to keep up cash flow to pay for their high-profile properties.
At the same time, developers are easing back on commercial projects as some real estate executives watch out for more vacancies in coming months. The latest Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority data found August's regional visitors slid 6.7% from a year earlier to about 3.1 million people, while convention attendance fell 8% to about 587,000.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.