Real Asset Media Thought Leaders

Demand for high-quality offices and competition for industrial space are reshaping commercial property markets across the globe, according to David Lockwood, chief executive officer of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR). SIOR’s 4,100 members span 725 cities in 52 countries, giving the organisation a broad perspective on market conditions. Lockwood said the pace of change was exceptional across both office and industrial property. “And no matter whether it's office space or industrial space, we're in an evolution of the market like we've never seen occurring so rapidly.” Companies are demanding very high-quality office space in many markets, while data centres, logistics businesses and manufacturers are competing for industrial space. “There is a race for quality space across the globe.” However, the strength of demand and the pace of recovery vary between locations. Some markets are performing strongly, while others are still recovering. “Not all markets are as good as some markets, but there are some markets that are doing extremely well, and then there are some markets that are still in a recovery phase.” Financing costs remain a challenge despite continued investor appetite for commercial property. Lockwood warned that higher interest rates could restrain investment for a time. “Commercial real estate is still a very highly sought after investment, but we have challenges with the cost of funds, the lending rates across the globe, and the rise in interest rates may hinder that investment for a period of time.” Despite those financing pressures, Lockwood maintained that commercial real estate remained a solid choice for investors. www.realassetinsight.com

AI can help real estate businesses bring fragmented information together and make more effective decisions, said Srikanth Ramachandra, founder and chief executive officer of NTrust Infotech. Speaking to Real Asset Media at the International Investors Lounge at EXPO Real 2026, Ramachandra highlighted the difficulties businesses face when data and documents are scattered across different sources. “AI is doing a lot of things for the real estate industry, which wasn't very easy before.” He described the scale of the problem: “The biggest problem that we hear everywhere, especially in Europe now is the fragmentation of data and documents. That has not enabled people to see everything together to make effective decisions.” AI could help businesses overcome this barrier, he said. “You'll be able to bring in data that are fragmented in different places seamlessly and ask questions and get them answered in a simple fashion without waiting for reporting cycles to come.” Ramachandra also suggested that AI could accelerate technology adoption in a real estate industry that has been slower to embrace it. www.realassetinsight.com

European real estate lenders still have liquidity and are willing to offer competitive financing for prime assets, despite persistent inflation and higher interest rates, according to Duco Mook, head of treasury and debt financing EMEA at CBRE Investment Management. Speaking to Real Asset Insight at EXPO Real 2026, Mook said: "The mood changed a little bit over the summer with sticky inflation and higher interest rates. But I think overall the liquidity is still there." "The lenders continue to serve us. They have the liquidity. For the prime product, it's actually still a borrower's market with very competitive pricing although obviously the all-in cost of that has absolutely increased with higher base rates which probably is here to stay for a bit of a longer term." "I definitely see opportunities to be more creative and think along with the lenders either for shorter term tenors, either be more flexible on the hedging structures," he said. Banks were also showing greater flexibility over interest coverage ratio (ICR) covenants, giving borrowers additional headroom to accommodate higher debt servicing costs. Mook said close cooperation between borrowers and lenders could help achieve better financing outcomes. Turning to investment opportunities, he said: "The hotspots, I would say ultimately it's really about the enhanced business plan. So where can we as an asset manager add value?" "There could be a bit of leasing risk, there could be a bit of construction risk as well. But overall you want to add value in the long run and we do that with the very strong asset management capabilities that we have on the ground." www.realassetinsight.com

Mispricing of high-quality offices in secondary German locations is creating investment opportunities, according to Jan Isaakson, head of capital markets at Newmark. Speaking at the International Investors Lounge at EXPO Real 2026, Isaakson identified a gap between investors’ assumptions about future office demand and the prospects for buildings outside central business districts. “If I would buy an asset, the most interesting part to me is the mispricing in offices and certain parts of the area, especially in B location,” said Isaakson. The market had already experienced the impact of working from home, he argued. Vacancy across Germany’s leading cities stood at 9% and appeared to be stabilising. Attention had now shifted to AI and its potential effect on office requirements. However, even in a hypothetical scenario in which vacancy rose to 20%, most space would remain occupied. “So, even if we would double that to 20%, this means that actually 80% of offices are still let, right?” Central business districts could account for only part of that occupied space, leaving a substantial role for good-quality buildings elsewhere. "To me, yes, roughly 25% to 30% is in CBD locations, I get that. But besides that, it means that more than half of the rest is still good assets which will be let." For investors, the opportunity lay in identifying buildings whose prices gave insufficient value to their potential to be re-let or used again once current leases ended. “And to me, this is actually the point most of the capital markets world is not getting because currently they are pricing it as just a discounted cash flow and with no re-usage.” Isaakson challenged the assumption that location alone would determine a building’s longer-term usefulness. “I don't think that an A asset, a quality asset in a B location will not have any usage in five or ten years from now. I completely disagree.” www.realassetinsight.com

Iceland's K64 Development Programme, the masterplan for the area around Keflavík International Airport, ties into the government's new industrial strategy. That is the view of Elín Guðnadóttir, programme director at KADECO, the state-owned company leading the scheme. Speaking to REAL FDI at EXPO Real 2026, Guðnadóttir said the programme uses existing infrastructure to grow the local and national economy. It draws on the airport’s connections to more than 90 direct destinations, a deep-sea harbour and links to universities and research centres in the capital area. “The Icelandic government has now launched an industrial strategy focusing on technology, data centres and high skilled jobs and value creation,” she said. Guðnadóttir said the strategy aligned with K64’s work. “This is all part of enhancing the Icelandic economy and for us enhancing the community and the economy around the Keflavík International Airport, which is the K64 masterplan.” https://realassetinsight.com/fdi/