1. Belgium: Developer gears up for Formula 1 trackside hotel
British hotel developer Escapade, a firm that specializes in Formula 1 trackside hotels and related race-day hospitality services, plans to open what will be its second such property in Belgium amid growing global interest in motorsports.
The company announced plans for a 68-room hotel at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, 30 miles southeast of the Belgian city of Liège and approximately the same distance east of the German border. Escapade said it will develop and manage the €30 million Belgian hotel that's due to open along with several branded residences in 2028.
2. UK: Government backs China’s plans for large London embassy
The United Kingdom government has approved China’s plans to build what would be Europe’s largest embassy in London.
The politically contentious decision came after the plans were “called-in” for a public inquiry in 2024, and was made ahead of an expected visit by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Beijing later this month. The U.K.’s plans to redevelop its embassy in China have been blocked for years by Xi Jinping’s government because of the delay in the London decision.
3. France: Investor targets healthcare real estate
French investment firm Emeis has created Isemia, a real estate company focused on high-demand healthcare properties throughout Europe.
Partner investors Farallon Capital and TwentyTwo Real Estate have contributed €761 million to Emeis, representing 62% of the latest appraised value of the assets held by the new investment vehicle. The portfolio consists of 68 assets with an appraised value of €1.22 billion, with the partnership planned to last at least five years.
4. Germany: Company closes residential fund amid redemptions
German investment firm Wertgrund said it is freezing an open-ended fund focused primarily on apartments, after facing share redemptions of around €147 million in recent months. The Munich-based company cited challenges including restrictive lending by German banks that hampered planned property purchases, despite recent stabilizing of residential financing conditions.
The company said investors are no longer able to redeem share certificates in the Wertgrund Wohnselect D fund, and new share issuances have been halted. Share redemptions exceeded the volume of the fund’s five latest property sales totalling €98 million during the past two years, the company said.
5. Canada: Housing starts climb as rental boom reshapes construction
Builders finished the year with shovels in the ground after a quiet autumn, as a 5.6% increase in housing starts pushed the 2025 total to 259,028 across Canada. That's the fifth-highest total recorded, though residential construction is expected to slow this year, according to a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report.
Construction momentum comes as Canada’s rental vacancy rate has reached 3.1%, the highest level in years and about twice the rate seen during the recent housing crisis. Housing starts have slowed since September, with developers focused on projects with fewer units, according to Mathieu Laberge, the housing agency’s chief economist.
6. US: Regional banks return to commercial property lending
Major U.S. regional banks are projecting renewed growth in commercial real estate lending after years of reducing risk, citing lower interest rates and credit quality stabilizing across properties.
Banks including Regions Financial, PNC, M&T Bank, First Horizon, U.S. Bancorp and KeyCorp told investors during fourth-quarter earnings calls that they expect commercial lending to contribute to their portfolios in 2026. The shift marks a potential turning point for commercial real estate finance after regional banks pulled back from the sector following the pandemic.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.