1. Spain: European hotel investors face elevated risk
European hotel investors are finding it easier to access credit in the current economy, but that comes with heightened risk for some types of borrowing, industry analysts said at a recent hospitality finance conference in Madrid.
Credit availability from multiple sources has nearly returned to levels posted before the 2008 global financial crisis, though debt financing rates remain elevated by historical standards, and more expensive mezzanine debt remains out of the picture for many investors. “We are now in pre-2008 numbers, but from the borrowers’ perspective, credit is affordable despite tailwinds on base rates,” Phil Golding, partner at Cedar Capital Partners, said during the Atlantic Ocean Hotel Investors’ Summit.
2. UK: Surveyor group mulls staff shakeup
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has embarked on what could be a significant reorganization with staff reductions, as it seeks to become more responsive to its members and to regional development concerns.
The industry body, which sets standards for real estate professionals, has begun a 30-day consultation with staff as part of a restructuring that could include central staff cuts ranging from 20 to 100, though new positions could be added in some regions of the United Kingdom. “They will have a higher level of autonomy, a freedom within the framework,” institution CEO Justin Young told CoStar News, referring to proposed staff expansion in cities such as Birmingham, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh. “We will see an element of focus too on commercial activity.”
3. France: Paris takes on bulk of new office development
The past year showed French office development reaching record levels for new deliveries, with a concentration of projects in Paris, according to the latest annual Grand Paris Office Crane Survey from consulting firms Deloitte and Explore.
At a time when office space has been shunned by many real estate investors in the region, more than 1.14 million square meters of office space were delivered to market in 2024. From April to September alone, 36 properties came on line, representing a total of 418,000 square meters, a level above the half-year average of the Deloitte study. The French capital city accounted for the bulk of these new projects, with 24 new buildings in the six-month period, “reflecting Paris’s enduring appeal as an economic and cultural center,” Deloitte analysts said.
4. Germany: Apartment building permits hit 14-year low
German government agencies approved construction permits for 215,900 apartments during 2024, down 16.8% from the prior year and the lowest total since 187,600 units were approved in 2010, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Following a 26.6% slump in the number of building permits in 2023, data showed the decline slowed somewhat over the course of 2024. While 21.1% fewer apartments were approved in the first half of the year, the number in the second half was 12.5% lower than the comparable figure from 2023. Companies accounted for 92,300 building permits in 2024, down 21.6 % from a year earlier; private individuals for 68,400, down 15.6 %; and the public sector for 8,800, a decline of 19.8%.
5. Canada: New Brunswick city could lose most from tariffs
Upcoming tariffs on Canadian imports into the United States would wreak havoc on some urban areas north of the border when they take effect, possibly next month. The Canadian city ranked most vulnerable to the tariffs is Saint John, New Brunswick, a city of approximately 80,000 residents located an 80-minute drive from the border to Maine.
That city was deemed to have an exposure index of 131.1% in a study released by the Ottawa-based Canadian Chamber of Commerce, based on vulnerability in relation to key export industries that drive regional economies. The study noted that over 80% of the 320,000 barrels of crude oil refined at Saint John’s Irving Oil Refinery are exported to the U.S., while many other seafood and forest products from the New Brunswick area are also exported to the U.S.
6. US: Trump administration looks to cut nearly 100 federal leases
The Trump administration’s new watchdog for reducing government spending, the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, says it has canceled or restructured 98 federal office leases covering more than 2 million square feet of space across the country.
DOGE said the cancellations and restructurings will save taxpayers $78.9 million. Leases cut or changed in the Washington, D.C., area accounted for 63% of the square footage and 69% of the cost savings, according to the operation run by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.