1. Saudi Arabia: Tourism Investment Tops $1 Trillion
Analysts estimate more than $1 trillion has been invested so far in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to boost its global profile in tourism, hospitality and sports tournaments.
Mass spending by the government and hotel developers on property and infrastructure remains steady as the country looks to reduce its economic dependence on oil as part of its Vision2030 program. Soccer’s fledgling Roshn Pro League, sponsored by a prominent real estate developer with hotel holdings, by itself spent nearly $1 billion in 2023 on deals with superstars including Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar da Silva.
2. UK: Facebook Parent Leaving London West End Office
Meta is vacating its office space in London’s West End, as the Facebook parent continues a dramatic pullback in its global office footprint and workforce.
The company said it is consolidating its London operations by moving workers from its West End space at landlord Deka’s Rathbone Square to its recently opened London office at the King’s Cross campus and another that was recently expanded on Brock Street. Meta officials said the latest real estate action would not result in U.K. staff reductions.
3. France: Slow Recovery Expected for Commercial Investment
Analysts are cautiously optimistic that France will gradually recover after commercial property deals dropped 57% from the prior year in 2023, to €11.6 billion according to data firm ImmoStat.
“Beware of the euphoria generated by the initial news on the slowdown in inflation, even though it bodes very well for the future,” said Nicolas Verdillon, managing director of investment properties at brokerage CBRE. He said 2024 “looks set to be another year of repositioning, but one that will be a little more active and dynamic.”
4. Germany: Logistics Property Deals Seen Rebounding Amid Rising Demand
Investments in German logistics properties fell sharply in 2023 from the prior year, though deal volume is expected to recover this year amid rising demand geared to e-commerce and industrial reshoring.
Logistics transactions totaled between €5.2 billion and €6.95 billion in 2023, according to separate calculations by international brokerage firms BNP Paribas Real Estate, CBRE, Colliers and Savills. This represented an annual decline of 28% to 46%, with the first half of 2023 hit especially hard by rising interest rates as the second half accounted for about 70% of the year’s deal volume.
5. Canada: Natural Disasters Prove Costly for Property Insurance Firms
Natural disasters wreaked more than $3.1 billion in insurable damages in 2023, making it the fourth-most expensive year on record for Canadian insurance firms and placing pressure on those companies to raise rates on property owners.
The estimate came from the Insurance Bureau of Canada trade group, which called on the federal government to follow through on last year’s promise to create a national flood insurance program that could make coverage more affordable. Last year’s costliest disasters included British Columbia wildfires that caused about $720 million in insurable damage over a six-week period starting in mid-August.
6. US: Nation’s Second-Tallest Tower Proposed for Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City may rank as only the 42nd-largest metropolitan area in the United States, but one day it may be home to the second-tallest building in the country.
Developer Centurion Partners has proposed a 1,750-foot-tall tower called the Boardwalk at Bricktown in downtown Oklahoma City, combining residential, retail, entertainment venues and a hotel with cost estimates not yet disclosed. The tallest U.S. building is the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center in New York City.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.