With a rapidly expanding market, navigating the sea of financing mechanisms is a challenge. These are more than just funding sources. They are strategic tools that channel capital into sustainable projects while also managing environmental risks and delivering financial returns.

Los Angeles-based impact fund manager SDS Capital Group has launched a new capital platform—SDS Impact Debt (SDSID)—that aims to bring much needed, low-cost debt to the affordable housing market. It is an asset-backed model that offers below-market financing (both permanent and construction) for affordable housing projects—and is potentially scalable across the U.S.

Despite improving return-to-office numbers, the office sector still battles numerous challenges that are resulting in higher loan defaults. According to MSCI Real Assets, office leads the charge on rising distress levels, which have not been seen in more than a decade. Office accounts for nearly half of outstanding distress: $51.6 billion in outstanding distress at the end of fourth quarter 2024, and another $74.7 billion in office properties identified as at risk for “potential” distress.

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.

Construction cost inflation continued to moderate in 2024. According to the global construction consulting firm Rider Levett Bucknall, cost inflation for North America increased 1.11 percent in the fourth quarter and rose 4.69 percent on a year-over-year basis. However, the Trump administration’s push for higher tariffs is reigniting concerns around higher costs ahead for real estate developers.

Two of the three leading indicators for U.S. commercial real estate ended 2024 on an upbeat note, particularly on the lending and construction phase, while design billing continued to lag.

Speakers mixed good news and uncertainty at the “ULI New York: Real Estate Outlook 2025" event, held January 22, 2025, at the Stern School of Business at New York University in Manhattan by ULI New York in partnership with NYU Stern | Chen Institute.

According to Morningstar DBRS, the Los Angeles–area wildfires have caused record property damage, with insured losses that could reach more than $30 billion. Despite many uncertainties on the path ahead for recovery and rebuilding of property and infrastructure, solutions are likely to require a lot of time and capital, as well as public and private stakeholders working in tandem.

Investors will be facing an environment wherein slower economic growth is expected in the coming years, explained Lawrence Lennon, director, capital markets at CBRE Vietnam, who spoke at a mid-November workshop during ULI Asia Pacific’s REImagine 2024 in Vietnam.

Canada’s real estate market is in the midst of a pivotal shift as the Bank of Canada (BoC) rolls back what has been “higher for longer” interest rates. Yet despite welcome relief on financing costs, real estate leaders are still moving somewhat cautiously amid uncertainty and fluid market dynamics.