- Residential markets: Australia’s home prices jumped 0.8% in September – the fastest annual rise in a year – as rate cuts boost demand reuters.com, with Brisbane (+1.2%) and Perth (+1.6%) leading gains and rents tightening reuters.com reuters.com. In Britain, Nationwide reports September house prices +0.5% month-on-month (2.2% year-on-year) reuters.com, supported by low unemployment and rising wages reuters.com; Northern Ireland and northern England saw the biggest annual gains. In China, a private survey shows new-home prices were up 0.09% in Sept, while secondhand home prices fell 0.74% reuters.com – analysts warn a true stabilization may not come until late 2026 or 2027 reuters.com, despite fresh policy support. (Bloomberg reports Chinese developers’ sales volumes steadied in September, marking a sharp rebound from August’s plunge bloomberg.com.)
- Commercial/industrial markets: Data-center real estate was in focus as Texas-based Fermi REIT raised $682 million in an IPO (valuing it at about $12.5 billion) to build AI-powered server campuses reuters.com. In the Middle East, Dar Al Arkan’s international arm (Dar Global) announced plans for a $1 billion “Trump Plaza” in Jeddah reuters.com, sending the developer’s shares up 3.5%. The Saudi stock index jumped 0.6% on Sept 30 amid hopes of looser Fed policy, led by 1.8% gains in Al Rajhi Bank reuters.com. By contrast, Dubai’s index fell 0.5% as blue-chip developer Emaar slid 1.9% reuters.com.
- Retail sector: In developed markets retailers struggle. British retailers reported a 12th straight month of falling sales in September, as weak consumer demand and policy uncertainty hurt sales reuters.com. (For example, CBI economist Martin Sartorius notes “weak demand continues to weigh on sales… [and] lacklustre economic conditions are affecting the wider distribution sector” reuters.com.) Globally, rising e-commerce and vacancy pressures persist, keeping malls and high-street rents under pressure.
- REITs & investment trusts: The REIT pipeline saw big moves. Aside from Fermi’s IPO reuters.com, Singapore’s Centurion Accommodation REIT – backed by Centurion Corp – debuted strongly in late Sept (up 11% on listing) reuters.com. Investor appetite for property assets is evident: a Reuters poll (Sept ’25) projects German home prices to rise ~3% in 2025-26, suggesting cautious optimism even as affordability worsens reuters.com. In the UK, low valuations are drawing buyers: US buyout firm KKR confirmed it is in the sale process for PRS REIT (a rental housing trust) reuters.com.
- Real estate tech & regulation: US regulators are tightening oversight of proptech. The FTC sued Zillow on Sept 30, alleging the online giant paid Redfin ~$100 million to exit the rentals market – a “paying off a competitor to stop competing” that the FTC calls unlawful reuters.com. Zillow’s CEO Jeremy Wacksman defended the deal as “beneficial for renters” reuters.com. Meanwhile, a federal judge approved a $4 million settlement of a New England class-action over MLS commission rules reuters.com, forcing local listing services to end the requirement that sellers pay buyers’ agent fees. These moves signal big changes ahead for how homes are marketed and sold.
- Policy & macro context: Governments continue to influence property. In Russia, President Putin directed the state “military bank” PSB to accelerate sales of state-owned real estate, raising cash for the budget reuters.com. In the US, Florida’s governor quietly donated 2.6 prime acres in Miami (worth ~$66 million) for a future Trump presidential library, drawing scrutiny over gift value reuters.com. Brazil’s inflation report (mid-Sept) showed housing costs jumped 3.3% on higher utilities reuters.com, but analysts expect disinflation to continue – Pantheon’s Andres Abadia notes “our base case is for disinflation to continue” with year-end inflation around 5% reuters.com. In short-term forecasts, ING strategist Carsten Brzeski sees Europe’s housing recovery persisting despite tight affordability reuters.com, while Centaline’s analysis in China underscores that policy stimulus (lower down-payments, etc.) has yet to fully lift buyer confidence reuters.com.
Residential Markets (Global)
China & Asia: China’s housing market remains on a knife-edge. Official and private surveys in late Sept show mixed signals. National data indicated a slight uptick in new-home prices (0.09% MoM) but continued declines in resale values reuters.com. Analysts warn that without sustained policy support, the market won’t firmly stabilize until possibly 2026–27 reuters.com. Bloomberg reports that sales by the top 100 developers were flat to slightly up in September bloomberg.com, a notable shift after big drops in August. Still, consumer sentiment is fragile. In Hong Kong and other Chinese cities, positive policy moves (easing purchase restrictions) have sparked short-lived rallies in developer stocks, but long-term demand remains uncertain. Fitch’s Asia Pacific head Lulu Shi has noted demographic headwinds and high unsold inventory as structural challenges.
In Japan, land and housing markets are buoyed by strong inbound tourism and easing post-pandemic caution. Government data show national land prices rose nearly 3% in early 2025 reuters.com (the fastest pace since 1991), with foreign buyers fueling demand in resort and urban areas. But Tokyo’s office rents are surging and the central bank warns of localized overheating. Korea and Southeast Asia see mixed trends: booming tech corridors (e.g. Indian IT hubs and Vietnamese tech parks) keep demand for mid-tier housing and offices high, while affordability remains stretched for average buyers.
Australia & New Zealand: Australia’s spring buying season kicked off strongly. Data from CoreLogic/Cotality show national home values climbed 0.8% in September – the biggest rise since 2024 reuters.com – pushing the median price to A$857,280. Demand outstripped supply in most cities: Brisbane (1.2%) and Perth (1.6%) led the gains, while Sydney and Melbourne also saw growth reuters.com. Cotality notes the momentum has shifted from lower-end homes to the “broad middle”, as cheaper rates lift borrowing capacity reuters.com. Housing funds and banks report record buyer interest. Even rents are firming: in September Australian rents rose another 0.5% (the fastest in over a year) and vacancies hit historic lows reuters.com. Economists point to a confluence of factors – three rate cuts by the RBA this year and tax incentives for first-home buyers – to fuel this rebound.
North America: The US housing market shows regional disparities. While high mortgage rates have cooled some markets, limited inventory keeps prices elevated in many areas. Regulatory shifts are notable: the MLS settlement and Zillow case hint at a more transparent, possibly lower-commission future, which some analysts say could slightly reduce transaction costs. Canada remains in slow recovery mode: home sales ticked up modestly through summer (data not shown), but housing starts fell in August, reflecting cautious builder sentiment amid high borrowing costs. Overall, North American buyers face slowly moderating rates and strong labor markets, but homes remain out of reach for many first-time buyers without significant savings or help.
Europe: The picture is uneven. UK house prices edged up in Sept reuters.com, but buyer confidence remains fragile ahead of the autumn budget. Nationwide’s Robert Gardner emphasizes that low unemployment and healthy wage growth support the market reuters.com. In Germany and elsewhere, recent polls see house prices on the rise (Reuters analysts forecast ~3% growth in 2025 reuters.com) after years of decline, but agree that affordability is worsening and supply of new homes is inadequate. “Recovery in the housing market continues, despite stagnating affordability,” notes ING’s Brzeski reuters.com. Southern Europe (Spain, Italy) sees modest gains driven by tourism-linked demand, but buyer sentiment is cautious given uneven economic outlooks. Overall, Europe’s housing markets are showing early signs of stability – help by recent ECB rate cuts – but income and lending constraints dampen a full rebound.
Latin America & Africa: Demand remains polarized. In Brazil, home prices are rising above inflation, but many still rent: analysts estimate Brazil will hit near-full employment by 2026, which could widen housing costs again. (In mid-Sept, housing-related inflation spiked +3.3% as utility costs climbed reuters.com.) The region’s affordable housing shortage is acute in cities like Mexico City and Bogotá, where rents are surging faster than wages. In the Middle East and North Africa, construction is booming: Knight Frank reports Egypt attracted some $1.4 billion in private residential investment in 2025 tradingview.com (notably from Gulf buyers seeking holiday homes), while the UAE and Saudi are launching millions of new housing units to serve growing populations. By contrast, South Africa’s sluggish economy and high unemployment keep its housing sector subdued, with little growth in new development.
Commercial and Industrial Real Estate
Office and Hotels: Global offices remain under pressure. In North America and Europe, subleased space is piling up in many downtowns as hybrid work endures. Some fund managers have begun offloading distressed office assets – a rare move even after years of “extend and pretend” in commercial lending. Asia’s tech hubs (like Tokyo’s Shinjuku or India’s Chennai) are doing better: strong corporate demand keeps vacancy low, even as rents inch up. Hospitality markets are more mixed: international tourism has rebounded, benefiting gateway cities (Paris, New York) and resort markets, but middle-tier business travel remains below pre-pandemic levels.
Industrial & Logistics: Warehousing and data centers are red-hot. The standout is Fermi, a newly IPO’ed U.S. data-center REIT, which raised $682 M to build an 11-gigawatt campus for AI servers reuters.com. Its sponsor, backed by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, aims to tap the exploding AI and cloud market. Other data-center specialists (e.g. CoreWeave, Keppel DC REIT) report record leasing by hyperscalers. In logistics, e-commerce growth keeps warehouses in demand, especially near major cities. Some logistics rents are rising 5–10% annually in tight markets (e.g. Europe’s Germany, U.S. Midwest), and industrial land continues to command premiums. China’s industrial property is steady too, with new releases for tech and manufacturing zones modestly buoying prices.
Retail and Leisure: Retail real estate is quietly diverging. High-end malls and outlet centers in affluent areas see stable occupancy and even rising rents, as luxury brands expand. In contrast, traditional malls and neighborhood shopping centers struggle: vacancy rates are creeping up in parts of the U.S. and UK as underfunded retailers exit. Central business districts that rely on tourist foot traffic (e.g. Midtown Manhattan, London’s West End) are only gradually recovering. Leasing terms are shifting to more flexible, short-term deals. In Asia-Pacific, some governments (e.g. Japan, Singapore) have eased planning rules or taxes to re-purpose vacant retail sites, but the sector’s fundamentals remain challenged by online competition.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Capital Markets
Investor interest in property remains strong, albeit selective. The data-center REIT Fermi’s IPO reuters.com reflects confidence in tech-driven real estate. In Singapore, Centurion Accommodation REIT’s successful listing (raising S$771 M) shows appetite for student and worker housing assets reuters.com. In Hong Kong and Australia, yields on office REITs have started to firm, enticing yield-hungry pension funds, though trading remains volatile. Globally, private equity players are circling real estate – for example, U.S. firm KKR entered a takeover process for London’s PRS REIT (focused on rental homes) reuters.com, betting on cheap UK asset prices.
Capital flows into emerging markets are notable: Gulf sovereign funds and pension schemes continue bulk buying in high-potential markets (India’s commercial parks, Indonesia’s logistics, Egypt’s housing projects). Meanwhile, forced sellers have been scarce: despite some high-profile restructurings (e.g. Brookfield’s loan on London’s CityPoint office reuters.com), commercial property debt has been mostly rolled over.
Real Estate Tech and Platforms
The digital side of real estate saw high drama. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed suit against Zillow on Sept 30, alleging it paid rival Redfin $100 million to exit the rental listings market reuters.com. FTC Chair Lina Khan blasted the deal as “paying off a competitor to stop competing” reuters.com, while Zillow’s CEO Jeremy Wacksman insisted the partnership would expand apartment listings for consumers reuters.com. This landmark case could reshape how proptech platforms compete.
Separately, U.S. housing platforms face changing commission rules: a federal judge approved a $4 million settlement that requires the New England MLS to drop its rule forcing sellers to offer buyer-agent commissions reuters.com. Brokerages and listing sites nationwide are watching closely, as any shift in commission norms could lower transaction costs and fuel further tech innovations in home buying. In Europe, regulators have not made similar high-profile moves, but banks like ING warn that property tech (from iBuyers to smart home data) is “maturing fast” and could soon see tougher oversight.
Policy, Regulation, and Economic Outlook
Policy continues to shape real estate trends. Central banks in major markets have generally paused interest-rate hikes, easing financing costs. In the U.S., mortgage rates have peaked and begun edging down (pending the October Fed meeting), which economists expect will modestly boost homebuying before year-end. The Bank of England and ECB have also signaled prolonged rate cuts ahead as inflation slows, which should eventually lower borrowing costs for developers and buyers.
Governments are balancing stimulus and restraint. Australia’s government introduced a 5% deposit scheme for first-home buyers (effective Oct 1) to spur demand reuters.com. In the UK, the incoming government reaffirmed a commitment to build 1.5 million new homes over five years (though details are pending). Brazil’s central bank has paused at a 15% rate, citing a “new stage” of steady policy reuters.com. Latin America’s fiscals remain strained, so housing subsidies are limited, but nations like Mexico and Colombia are expanding mortgage support for low-income buyers.
Looking ahead, most forecasters see modest growth. A Reuters poll finds German home prices rising ~3% in 2025-26 reuters.com; similarly, analysts in Australia see prices up 2-4% next year on continued credit growth. By contrast, Chinese forecasters expect only slight gains or stable prices through 2026. Economists warn of risks: ING’s Brzeski stresses geopolitical and economic uncertainty, and Fitch points out that cities “where the rich control the land” often struggle to improve affordability reuters.com.
In summary, the global real estate market as of late Sept 2025 is dynamic and uneven: key hubs like Australia and parts of Asia are experiencing renewed fervor, Europe is cautiously recovering, and North America is steadying. Against this backdrop, tech-driven changes and regulatory battles are hot topics that will influence how people buy, sell and invest in real estate. Analysts and business leaders urge vigilance – or even opportunity – as capital flows into beaten-down sectors (like offices and retail) meet the blue-sky ambitions of data centers and urban megaprojects.
Sources: Authoritative news and market reports from Reuters, Bloomberg and industry surveys reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com, among others. (Quotes and data are drawn from these sources as cited above.)
