1. India: International travelers projected to surpass China
U.S. or European destinations are not yet the most popular among Indian travelers, but that country is now the fastest-growing for outbound travelers and well on pace to overtake China in absolute numbers, according to hoteliers and industry analysts.
India’s growing cohort of global travelers has implications for tourism spending in multiple other short- and long-haul destinations, as those travelers seek the comforts of home. Government and economic development agencies said Indian nationals traveling abroad in 2023 totaled 28.2 million, up from 26.9 million in 2019, and the country’s outbound tourism spending is expected to reach $55.4 billion by 2034, with approximate annual growth topping 11%.
2. UK: Warehouse REIT rejects Blackstone-led takeover
Warehouse REIT, a prominent London-based investor in multitenant industrial properties, rejected a fourth cash bid from Blackstone Europe and Sixth Street Partners to take the real estate investment trust private.
Stock market filings showed the latest buyout proposal, rejected Feb. 28 by Warehouse REIT’s executive board, called for the company to be paid 110.5 pence per share for a total valuation of approximately £470 million. New York-based private equity giant Blackstone has been the most active investor in United Kingdom industrial properties as demand has increased in recent years.
3. France: European luxury store openings decline
Paris joined numerous high-end shopping hubs as European luxury store openings declined to 83 during 2024, compared with 107 in the prior year, according to brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. Factors included slowing sales and limited availability of locations targeted by luxury brands in Europe’s 20 top shopping destinations in 12 countries.
The brokerage’s latest European luxury retail report found brands owned by LVMH, Richemont and Kering accounted for just over one-third of new openings in 2024. Amid dropping vacancies and rising rents, major luxury groups continue to make long-term investments in retail locations, particularly in key luxury corridors of London, Paris and Milan.
4. Germany: Investment fund sells apartments after devaluation
A prominent German real estate fund has sold another large portion of its apartment portfolio amid continued financial challenges spurred by property devaluations.
Union Investment, manager of the open-ended fund known as “Unilmmo: Wohnen ZBI” said it sold more than 8,000 residential and commercial units throughout Germany to investment firm I-Wohnen Group, managed by In-West Partners GmbH. This is the fund’s second major portfolio sale since last June’s steep property devaluations, after September’s sale of about 7,900 residential and commercial units to Net Zero Properties of Luxembourg.
5. Canada: Low prices, subsidies boost Calgary office conversions
Moderate pricing and municipal subsidies are helping to speed conversion of underused office buildings into residential units in Calgary, the largest city in Canada’s Alberta province, according to a prominent developer of such projects.
Maxim Olshevsky, who heads Astra Group and Peoplefirst Developments, told attendees at an apartment investment conference that low prices for office properties in high-vacancy Calgary make office-to-residential conversions far more workable than in other cities. Some downtown Calgary office properties can be purchased for as little at $75 to $85 per square foot, with the city in some cases offering subsidies at similar levels for conversions as Canada looks to increase its stock of affordable apartments.
6. US: Government becomes flexible office provider for returning workers
The U.S. government is turning into a flexible office provider, creating an app that matches federal staffers returning to the workplace after toiling remotely in the wake of the pandemic. This comes as real estate planning remains in flux amid federal job cuts.
The General Services Administration said it began its “Space Match” initiative to help agencies seeking offices, operating in a similar way as corporate coworking space providers such as WeWork, with the GSA saying the whole process can take as little as 30 days to issue occupancy agreements to users doing work for the federal government. The move comes after President Donald Trump ordered federal employees to return to the office full time as he began his second term, without a timetable or specific plans for where employees should work.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.