Real estate dealmakers look forward to a much busier 2025. High interest rates and uncertainty have choked markets for commercial real estate since rates began their relentless rise two years ago. In 2024, banks and other lenders struggled to underwrite new loans and refinance expiring ones. Potential buyers and sellers argued about the value of assets.

Held in fast-paced and bustling Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in mid-November, ULI Asia Pacific’s REImagine 2024 brought together more than 100 professionals in a uniquely engaging way.

Although market dynamics are changing in countries across Asia, new opportunities are opening up in real estate investment

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?

Shenzhen’s Nantou Ancient City project represents a groundbreaking approach to revitalizing China’s historic urban villages in a way that preserves their cultural heritage and community fabric. After China’s government designated Shenzhen as a Special Economic Zone in 1980, the city’s more than 400 urban villages grew rapidly to provide informal housing for an influx of migrant workers. The result: high-density residential areas that maximized rental income but often compromised on fire safety and hygiene standards.

In late September 2019, 7,300 commuter students were settling into their routines at the University of Southern Maine (USM) in Portland, where the academic year had just begun. Then, at the end of the month, a fire main broke beneath the repurposed industrial building serving as the student center, flooding it with six inches of mud. City officials declared the building uninhabitable, leaving the school without a student center.

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.

In the July-August 1967 edition of Urban Land, Thurston H. Ross delivered a speech on high-rise schools, the abandonment of the front and backyard concept, and a return to the town meeting type of government in the future.

A new ULI report, supported by C Change and Net Zero Imperative, outlines the key barriers to decarbonization, and presents seven guiding principles that address asset stranding risk.

The commercial real estate industry is voicing strong support for the Energy Star program as the Trump administration proposes substantial budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, a change that could jeopardize the voluntary program’s future or eliminate it entirely.

Neighborhood collaboration is key to swift rebuilding

ULI New York recently hosted a panel “The Changing Face of Commercial Real Estate—a Program in Recognition of Black History Month,” through a partnership among ULI New York, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), and Council of Urban Real Estate (CURE), at REBNY’s Manhattan office, highlighting successful professionals of color.

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.

A group of experts representing ULI visited Buffalo, New York, last November to make recommendations for reviving the city’s Jefferson Avenue Corridor, the main thoroughfare of a historically black area that has suffered a decline in commercial, social, and civic activity and engagement as the result of decades of disinvestment and a recent racially motivated shooting.