Since global central banks began hiking interest rates in 2022, Japan’s lower cost of capital has made it a magnet for global investors seeking deals in one of the very few major markets still offering positive yield spreads.

In the session “Financing Tools to Make Affordable Deals Pencil” at the 2024 ULI Housing Opportunity Conference, panelists shared a variety of tools and strategies designed to support the production of more affordable housing.

For many years, India’s real estate markets languished in the shadow of booming Mainland China, with investors flocking there to buy real estate and tap into emerging demand. More recently, as China has struggled to mediate structural oversupply in real assets, investment flows are moving increasingly in a southerly direction. A panel at the ULI’s 2024 Asia Pacific Summit in Tokyo addressed the dynamics of current investment landscapes in each market.

With investors across the Asia Pacific continuing to avoid mainstream asset classes as they seek out higher returns and more reliable income streams, attention has turned increasingly to “living assets”—a broadly defined concept that includes the multifamily, senior living, and student housing sectors.

It’s no secret that construction starts are down in the current market where higher interest rates are making it tough to pencil out new projects. But, for some developers, the bigger problem these days is sourcing equity versus debt.

The third and final capital markets panel held during ULI’s Spring Meeting, in New York City in early March, focused on borrower experiences. Kyle Bolden, senior audit partner in the Real Estate Hospitality & Construction practice of Ernst & Young, moderated a panel on raising equity amid ongoing market uncertainty. The panelists were Brian Mutchler, managing director of Harrison Street; Jerome Nichols, president of Standard Real Estate Investments; and Jeff Rosen, a principal of Mag Partners.

Under the leadership of Chief Investment Officer Wes Fuller, Greystar, a vertically integrated real estate firm that owns, operates, and develops multifamily, student, and senior housing, began investing in international markets in 2013, including in Europe, Asia, and South America. The company’s robust institutional investment management platform now has a global presence in 249 markets.

Despite headwinds, debt funds continue to fill the void in commercial real estate financing.

In the first quarter of the year, we saw a palatable increase in financing requests from a variety of sponsors providing some optimism that real estate activity may be picking up. And while very few could be categorized as “good news” transactions, the vast majority were clearly indicative of what we are seeing in the market.

This is the second installment of Urban Land’s coverage of a special three-part capital markets series held at ULI’s Spring Meeting in New York City (March 9-11; you can read coverage of Part 1 here).