1. Japan: Hotel investors thrive amid strong demand
Japan’s hotel industry has been the beneficiary of positive dynamics for a while, with current exchange rates making it an inexpensive option for international travelers.
The country's long-term availability of inexpensive debt is another reason Japan has continued to thrive, said Steve Carroll, head of hotels and hospitality in the Asia Pacific region at real estate services firm CBRE, during a podcast interview with CoStar News Hotels. “Our No. 1 market is Japan,” Carroll said. “Both onshore investors and offshore investors are continuing to pour into Japan.”
2. UK: JPMorgan plans to develop London headquarters tower
American financial services giant JPMorgan Chase announced plans to build a 3 million-square-foot United Kingdom regional headquarters tower at a waterfront site in London’s Canary Wharf neighborhood.
In a statement, the company said the project would “enable additional capacity for the firm to grow by creating a world-class workplace for up to 12,000 employees, further strengthening London’s position as a global financial hub.” It said plans are subject to a “continuing positive business environment in the U.K. and the receipt of the necessary approvals and agreements at a national and local level.”
3. France: LVMH-backed fund ready to revive French Riviera hotel
L Catteron, a private equity fund backed by luxury retail giant LVMH, is teaming with hotel investment fund Cedar Capital to acquire and reopen a prominent French Riviera hotel that closed in 2020. Plans arrive as several four- and five-star properties have attracted capital to the French hotel industry this year.
Sources said L Catterton and Cedar Capital have positioned themselves to purchase and renovate the 170-room Garden Beach hotel, a longtime feature of the seaside resort area known as Juan-les-Pins. It would follow other transactions including the €200 million purchase of the Cap Estel on the Mediterranean coast by investor Bernard Arnault.
4. Germany: Commercial investment on track for growth
The German commercial investment market could be on the upswing again, backed by stabilized interests rates and increased fundraising among institutional investors, according to brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.
Analysts reported special funds with a planned volume of nearly €6 billion are available to be invested explicitly in German real estate. Of this, €2.55 billion is to be invested in logistics real estate in Germany and €1.9 billion in residential real estate. Germany’s total commercial property investment could grow from €22.4 billion in 2024 to €24 billion in 2025 and up to €30 billion in 2026, Cushman & Wakefield projected.
5. Canada: This architectural prescription targets North America’s ‘epidemic of loneliness’
In a swath of fields in the suburbs north of Toronto, the first sign of what is expected to become a bustling new community is now visible, emerging from a cluster of trees. A notable feature of the Carrville neighborhood in Vaughan is a 90,000-square-foot community center designed by architects at Perkins & Will, among the latest in growing slate of facilities designed to give residents across multiple generations a sense of connection.
“We are in the grips of an epidemic of loneliness,” according to the firm. “Our societal resilience is weakening to dangerously low levels and there is an urgency to address these challenges. Community centers occupy an important role by becoming creators of community connection and thereby raising their value and purpose.”
6. US: Commercial real estate prices rise, extending recovery trend
U.S. commercial real estate prices climbed in October, extending multiple gains over the past five months in a sign of stabilization after years of decline. That’s according to the latest CoStar Commercial Repeat-Sales Indices report that tracks when previously sold properties trade hands again in a process called a repeat sale.
A value-weighted index reflecting expensive deals in large cities rose 0.5% from September, while an equal-weighted index tracking more numerous but lower-priced property sales jumped 0.9%. October’s gains extended a recent recovery as the U.S. Federal Reserve has cut interest rates twice since September, dropping borrowing costs to their lowest point since 2022.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.