The challenging investment market had many in CRE believing the key to 2024 was to survive until 2025. Now that 2025 is here, has the global investment market thawed? Signs are positive, reports the just-released 2025 Global Investor Outlook from Colliers.
Key economic indicators stabilized in 2024, and real estate investor sentiment strengthened, notes David Amsterdam, president, U.S. capital markets and Aaron Jodka, Colliers’ director of research for U.S. capital markets,for Colliers. But while the fundamentals have improved, some challenges remain.
Economic Indicators Contribute to Optimism
According to Jodka, the stabilization in asset values and other macro factors have brought back some key players. “Institutional investors have returned to the market, while private capital, including high-net-worth individuals and family offices, are propping up activity,” says Jodka. “Fundraising has gained traction and sales volume has found a bottom along with pricing.”
Investors are likely emboldened as interest rates normalize and U.S. pricing has adjusted faster than other parts of the globe, making the basis for acquisition attractive on both a capitalization rate and a price per square foot per unit basis.
“Investor sentiment is bolstered as greater clarity on the direction of economic policy emerges post-election, which contributes to investor confidence,” explains Amsterdam, adding that domestic investors are also likely to pivot back to the United States now that rates are falling.
Sluggish Factors Create Investor Challenges
Investors still face challenges in 2025 as some economic factors remain sluggish, according to Amsterdam.
“Interest rates remain above both pre-pandemic levels and the easy monetary policy of 2021 and 2022, and debt maturities will need to be dealt with,” says Jodka, noting that there is a concern that progress on improved inflation could stall or reverse course and that the path and pace of interest rates in the United States remains uncertain, impacting capital strategies.
And while a bid-ask spread remains, it has improved. Amsterdam points out that a lack of available product in certain segments is constraining transaction volumes. “It is becoming widely recognized that now is a favorable time to be in the market given current generational acquisition opportunities.”
Opportunities Remain Abundant
Investors will find opportunity and value across various asset classes and regions, according to Amsterdam and Jodka, with multifamily, and industrial leading sales volume, while office will appeal to higher risk investors. Meanwhile, life sciences and data centers—especially hyperscalers and AI—offer more high-conviction investment opportunities.
Jodka notes that the participation of equity-led private wealth players has created a more resilient base. “They tend to have longer investment horizons, taking advantage of today’s conditions by acquiring assets below replacement cost, as well as being low-leverage, making stricter lending standards less impactful,” Jodka says.
“A growing pipeline of real estate opportunities are expected to drive expanded action, lifting transaction volumes as the year progresses,” concludes Amsterdam.
For more insights and thought leadership from Colliers, click here.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
