The 17th edition of the Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Asia Pacific, the regional real estate forecast jointly published by ULI and PwC, highlights a downtick in investor sentiment due to concerns over the rising cost of debt, higher inflation, and a looming global recession. A dip in regional transaction volumes is apparent, with the third-quarter deal count in the Asia Pacific falling 38 percent year-on-year to US$32.6 billion, recording the lowest third-quarter volumes for a decade in the region.

A new survey by PwC identified an exponential increase in the asset and wealth management industry’s desire for environmental, social, and governance–oriented (ESG) investments: in the United States alone, assets under management are projected to more than double from $4.5 trillion in 2021 to $10.5 trillion in 2026. At the same time, asset managers report being challenged to create enough new funds to keep up with the demand, giving an edge to real estate firms with strong sustainability programs.

Communities of color struggle to thrive in part because real estate appraisals are marred by racial bias, ossified methodology, and industry practices, according to an expert panel at ULI’s Fall Meeting in Dallas.

Facing economic challenges that include inflation, currency issues, and other headwinds, commercial real estate companies should focus more on cash flow assets as a method to drive revenue growth, Kathleen McCarthy, global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate, said during a general session at the ULI Fall Meeting in Dallas.

6 strategic ways to foster and consolidate the use of green financing tools.

Total commercial and multifamily mortgage borrowing and lending are expected to fall to $766 billion this year, down 14 percent from 2021 totals. This is according to an updated baseline forecast released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Rising interest rates have not derailed a steady pipeline of merger and acquisition activity in commercial real estate—at least not yet. The sector has seen a number of mega-mergers announced this year but not well above the historical average.

The $99.5 billion increase in commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding in the second quarter was the second largest quarterly rise since the inception of MBA’s data series in 2007.

According to the 2022 Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index, four of the top five countries for cryptocurrency adoption are emerging markets, with the United States listed in fifth place.

The ULI Asia Pacific Summit, held in Hong Kong in August, asked a panel of experts what was next for China’s property market. The residential development market in particular has been challenged, with restrictions on lending, defaults among developers, and falling sales.