1. Spain: European hotel owners look to boost sustainability
Environmental, social and governance initiatives remain a priority for global hotel companies, especially those investing in sustainability now in hopes of seeing a major return years down the road when they’re ready to sell their properties, according to operators and analysts at the Atlantic Ocean Hotel Investors’ Summit in Madrid.
Accessing financing, obtaining insurance and improving supply chain and operational pricing will be key to hotels having the correct climate-change and net-zero underwriting and policies. Rogerio Basso, head of tourism at IDB Invest, said environmental strategy has implications for capital investments and profits, “but the sense of urgency is different in different geographies.”
2. UK: Bank of America launches latest big CMBS financing
Bank of America’s launch of a €259.8 million logistics portfolio financing marks Europe’s third major commercial mortgage backed securities transaction of 2025, with deal volume already reaching more than half the level for full-year 2024 as more competitive pricing encourages activity.
The American bank financed a 37-property logistics portfolio owned by Carlyle Group, purchased in Germany and France in 10 transactions during 2020 and 2021. The year’s earlier European high-value CMBS financings included Blackstone’s securitization of a €525 million portfolio of 53 properties operated by Sequoia Logistics, the largest euro-dominated issuance since 2021; and a €343.6 million multi-borrower securitization of more than 200 properties owned by Pembroke among other investors.
3. France: Logistics properties top investor demand
Logistics properties in France, once perceived as an alternative asset class, raised their profile in 2024 to become the nation’s most transacted property category, with nearly €4 billion invested — more than doubling the 2023 figure, according to analysts.
“This is a first, and a far, far cry from what the sector was capable of a few years ago, when it accounted for no more than 10% of invested volumes,” said Romain Nicolle, head of industrial capital markets in France at brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. “But that’s not so surprising, since it’s been clear for three or four years now that investors are increasingly convinced about logistics, and that, conversely, other real estate sectors are suffering from a variety of ailments.”
4. Germany: Office prices rise for first time since 2022
Germany’s commercial real estate prices rose 1.8% from a year earlier in the fourth quarter of 2024, aided by the first annual rise in office prices since the third quarter of 2022 as that category gradually rebounds.
The latest tracking by Germany’s Pfandbrief banks showed price increases driven largely by residential properties, with multifamily categories rising as much as 2.9%. Office prices rose 0.7% from a year earlier, while the retail category continued to struggle with an annual decline of 0.2%.
5. Canada: Amazon warehouse closings expected to raise vacancy
Amazon’s decision to close its operations in Quebec is expected to have a major effect on industrial vacancy in the Montreal region, as the retail giant is set to vacate nearly 2.3 million square feet of recently built warehouses.
The e-commerce company said last month it would withdraw operations from the province in a move that would leave nearly 2,000 employees out of a job. Amazon decided to close the distribution facilities following a vote by 200 workers in Laval to join a labor union.
6. US: California loses movie, TV production to non-US rivals
Movie and television production firms are increasingly doing business outside the United States, favoring places like Toronto and the United Kingdom, prompting top entertainment hubs like Los Angeles to add high-tech soundstages and ramp up incentives to lure back studios.
The five leading locations where producers plan on filming projects in the next year are outside America, based on what 150 executives told industry tracking service ProdPro and interviews with industry professionals by CoStar News. California, the highest-ranking U.S. location on the list, placed sixth among world regions where productions are set for the 2025-2026 filming season, followed by Georgia, New Jersey and New York.
This report was compiled from CoStar’s news publications in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.