Although ready to commence a new real estate cycle, real estate leaders globally are braced for another challenging year of uncertainty, with lingering inflation, largely driven by factors including geopolitical instability, and persistently higher interest rates in some regions, potentially delaying a hoped-for recovery in capital markets and occupancy metrics. This is according to the Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Global Outlook 2025 from PwC and ULI, which provides an important gauge of global sentiment for investment and development prospects, amalgamating and updating three regional reports which canvassed thousands of real estate leaders across Europe, the United States and Asia Pacific.
In Jersey City, N.J., commuters recently started using what is believed to be the first moving sidewalk designed as a permanent facility for the large-scale movement of pedestrian traffic.
Optimism is often misunderstood as wishful thinking or blind positivity. In reality, fearless positivity is a leadership strategy—one that allows organizations to not only endure change but leverage it as a catalyst for innovation. Research shows that organizations led by optimistic leaders outperform their peers. Optimistic leaders foster more engaged teams, make bolder strategic decisions, and create cultures that embrace adaptability rather than resist it.
According to CBRE’s “North America Data Center Trends H2 2024" report, the overall vacancy rate in primary markets fell to a record-low 1.9 percent at year-end. Only a handful of facilities with 10 MW or more are slated for delivery in 2025 and are not yet leased, reflecting the scarcity of large-scale available inventory.
Industry Voices
Nestled in the shadow of SSM Health’s new $550 million hospital and Saint Louis University’s medical and undergraduate campuses, the former Steelcote Manufacturing Company Paint Factory and its neighboring parcels constituted a forgotten remnant of St. Louis’ proud industrial past. Few observers, if any, envisioned the area’s potential for housing not only students and hospital employees but also national entertainment options such as Topgolf and a major retailer, Target.
A few key trends that evolved over the past few years and continue to shape the field of placemaking in 2025 reflect a growing commitment to sustainability, resource efficiency, and the responsible management of urban spaces.
In the journey toward embedding racial equity in real estate development, the 10 Principles for Embedding Racial Equity Development report, published by Urban Land Institute, serves as more than just a set of guidelines—they are seeds of transformation. When thoughtfully planted in the soil of our companies, projects, and communities, these seeds have the potential to grow into something profound: stronger, more equitable systems that uplift everyone.
Business and political leaders are quick to celebrate mixed-use developments as a way to build sustainable, vibrant, and resilient communities. The journey from conception to ribbon-cutting can be daunting, though. At their outset, these developments face cyclical challenges, such as high interest rates, increased construction costs, labor shortages, and access to capital. Then come structural challenges, such as hybrid work models, changing retail habits, demographic shifts, and rising environmental expectations. Together, these things make completing mixed-use developments complex.
Architecture is a profession steeped in tradition, built on a romantic story of young talent learning at the drafting tables of those who have mastered their craft. This generations-old tale carries on, but how practical or healthy is it for us to hold on to this story today?
Climate considerations have increasingly become a critical focus for real estate owners, operators, and investors over the past few decades, particularly as the frequency of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters has surged. Beyond the headline-grabbing events, more frequent temperature extremes and less stable energy costs have real financial implications for owners and residents. Key changes in our operating environment include:
ULX: Highlighting Best Practices in New Development
10 projects model ways to prepare the built environment for climate stresses and shocks
10 museum buildings strengthen ties to communities and the public realm
The following projects include an underwater bicycle garage; a university parking structure that includes a gaming lounge and food hall; a surface lot reimagined as open space with parklike amenities; an underground cafeteria repurposed for cars; and parking decks wrapped in artistic, semitransparent enclosures that reflect local culture.
Ten projects showcase clever urban interventions spearheaded by principals under age 50
Ten projects deliver compact residential spaces that offer more affordable city living options, foster community, and minimize environmental impacts.
Ten projects take advantage of financial tools that promote environmentally positive development
Office-to-Residential Conversion
Obsolete buildings will constitute up to 50 percent of all new housing in cities
Conversions of office buildings for residential uses are becoming increasingly viable in some regions. According to Steven Paynter, a principal at Gensler who leads the firm’s global building transformation and adaptive use practice, office-to-residential conversions are viable in 25–30 percent of the buildings his team analyzes.
Experts speak about the near-term prospects for converting office buildings into multifamily housing, best practices for evaluating conversion potential, innovative ways the public sector can support these projects, and other related trends.
In St. Paul, Minnesota, the 386 Wabasha Avenue building was originally erected in 1971 and occupied by service company Ecolab for more than 40 years.
Turning obsolete office buildings into apartments can be complicated and tricky—but daring developers and ingenious architects are showing a way to help solve housing shortages.
As attention turns to what real estate markets may be like once the COVID-19 pandemic has wound down, the outlook for office properties is particularly hazy. More than a year of home-based work left office spaces idle, and it remains unknown how many people will resume their daily commutes once health conditions and local regulations permit.