1. Singapore: Prominent hotel to get new owner
Singapore-based real estate investment trust CapitaLand Ascott Trust agreed to sell one of its prominent hotels in that city-state, Robertson House by The Crest Collection, for about 360 million Singapore dollars or $282 million in U.S. currency. CapitaLand, which owns more than 100 hotels worldwide and retains four in Singapore, confirmed the transaction in a filing with the Singapore Stock Exchange that did not name the buyer.
Citing sources, Thailand-based news site Mingtiandi said the planned buyer of the 336-room property was a “mainland Chinese individual with ties to the shipping industry.” The divestment, expected to close in this year's third quarter, will enable the seller “to redeploy proceeds into higher-yielding properties,” CapitaLand CEO Serena Teo said in a statement.
2. UK: Global conflict reduces property pricing expectations
An expected modest recovery this year for the United Kingdom’s commercial property transaction activity and pricing has been revised downward by Savills, amid the outbreak of war in Iran and domestic political uncertainty.
Mat Oakley, Savills’ head of U.K. and European commercial research, said during an annual financing conference that the real estate services firm has changed its forecasts from a 10% increase in transactions and a decrease of 25 basis points in investment yields before the Iran war; to a 5% rise in activity and no yield decline during 2026. Savills put last year’s U.K. investment activity at £56.8 billion, while investment in the first quarter of 2026 was £10.4 billion.
3. France: Country attracts new data center, warehouse investment
Companies have announced a record €93 billion in French investments expected to create more than 15,000 jobs, President Emmanuel Macron said at an annual conference geared to attracting international development. Analysts said much of the planned investment is expected to boost the country’s infrastructure tied to logistics, data centers and artificial intelligence technologies.
Among other projects, Japanese investment giant SoftBank has announced a €75 billion investment package in the Hauts-de-France region for the construction of data centers, representing “the largest investment in Europe in artificial intelligence-related infrastructure,” according to its CEO, Masayoshi Son. Canadian asset manager Brookfield plans to invest an additional €10 billion in AI-related infrastructure in France, bringing its total to up to €30 billion.
4. Germany: Investment firms partner on logistics development
Investment firm VIB Vermögen and a fund managed by Tristan Capital Partners formed a joint venture to develop mid-sized logistics projects throughout Germany. The aim is to build a large-volume portfolio over the next few years with a focus on the country’s seven largest logistics regions, with VIB to handle acquisition, marketing, development and asset management, the companies said.
The first planned project is a new logistics building with a gross floor area of around 20,000 square meters, to be preleased on a long-term basis to a “large and well-known logistics company,” according to a statement. The venture has acquired a plot of land in Baunatal, in northern Hesse, where construction is scheduled to start in this year’s fourth quarter.
5. Canada: Government incentives could spur office-to-residential conversions
Cities around Canada can learn a few things from Calgary about how to seamlessly convert underused office buildings into rental apartment towers, according to some industry professionals. Calgary has set aside $153 million for its downtown office-to-residential conversion program, which pays developers up to $15 million per building to make conversions feasible.
Neither of Canada’s two largest cities, Toronto and Montreal, offer financial incentives to fund office-to-residential conversion projects, unlike Calgary, a city that’s emerged as a North American leader in the space largely because of its subsidy and grant programs. Calgary’s funding is now supporting nine new projects that are expected to turn almost 1 million square feet of empty offices into 972 homes.
6. US: Samsung’s planned move from New Jersey to Texas fuels tax policy debate
Samsung Electronics America is relocating its headquarters to Texas from New Jersey just eight months after moving into its new Garden State facility with much fanfare, reigniting criticism that the area's high corporate taxes and red tape are driving away businesses.
The South Korean consumer electronics giant confirmed that it was exiting a property in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, where it leases roughly 270,000 square feet. The U.S. headquarters will move to Samsung’s existing campus in Plano, Texas, “building on our 30-year presence in the state,” the company said in an email to CoStar News.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.