Canada’s real estate market remains deeply challenged: Although 2026 isn’t expected to deliver a rapid rebound, there is growing recognition that the next cycle will not mirror the last. Instead, the industry is entering a generational transition that demands new strategies, partners, and capital sources, as well as a fundamental modernization of how companies operate. A record-breaking crowd of more than 500 real estate leaders heard the “balanced but cautiously optimistic” 2026 outlook at the 21st Annual “ULI Toronto Trends in Real Estate” event at the Fairmont Royal York hotel.

The 2026 Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Asia Pacific report, published jointly by ULI and PwC found a mood of cautious optimism among real estate professionals; however, respondents described considerable disparities in markets and sectors across the region. Tokyo was ranked as the top city for investment in the Emerging Trends survey, top of the table for the third consecutive year, followed by Singapore, Sydney, Osaka, and Seoul.

Concerns about deglobalization surge, AI revolutionizes real estate, and top European cities for investment identified as London, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, and Amsterdam

Despite volatility and uncertainty, real estate investors are finding ways to make deals. A new consensus is forming around a “reset” in the economy and commercial real estate, according to the 2024 Emerging Trends in Real Estate forecast produced by PwC and ULI. “There’s this sentiment of guarded optimism,” says Bill Staffieri, partner with PwC. He presented the forecast to hundreds of real estate experts at the Real Estate Outlook 2024, hosted in late January in New York City by ULI New York.

Real estate market participants are in the midst of a “Great Reset” when it comes to adjusting views related to pricing, risk, and return expectations in an environment marked by higher interest rates and slower economic growth. The need to align thinking and strategies to fit current market dynamics is one of the key themes in the 2024 Emerging Trends in Real Estate forecast for the United States and Canada.

As creative placemaking has proliferated in the real estate industry, questions regarding its costs and benefits have often surfaced: What is the cost and what is the business case? Does it enhance the value of real estate? And what value is delivered?

Providing end-users with a choice that originates from a binary view—either indoor or outdoor—is no longer enough.

At the Europe ULI Hines Student Competition final, the team from the University of Manchester in England sized up their fellow competitors. They were impressed by the other presentations, but they felt confident that their own had a slight edge because of its core strength: its diversity.

Strict one-use-per-parcel zoning rules have long limited the growth of mixed-use projects in Spain, but the builders of a new office, residential, and commercial project in Madrid hope their example will pave the way for other integrated projects.

Innovative technology platforms already are helping many owners operate apartment buildings more efficiently and improve services for tenants. But experts say that is just the start of a revolution that could transform the multifamily segment.