Real estate carbon emission levels, along with the risk data and analysis determining them, will increasingly become make-or-break factors in investment decisions. They will also have the potential to throw up major hurdles to refinancing — thereby causing major ramifications to commercial real estate in some of the globe’s biggest markets.

I’ve noticed over the years that people in this industry take a far too casual stance when it comes to sharing (and comparing) performance numbers. First of all, a performance number is only comparable if the inputs that go into the formula for calculating those numbers have been uniformly defined and collected, and if the formulas that are used to calculate are identical.

Hybrid working has provided the “biggest opportunity of our generation” to redesign how and where work is carried out within companies. In a recent paper on how to combine real estate and operational strategy to improve business performance, management consultancy Alvarez & Marsal says many organisations with desk-bound employees are blaming hybrid working for a loss of productivity and underused office space. But the consultancy says this analysis is tired and shallow.

There has to be a sea change in property investment mentality as capital allocators can no longer rely on yield compression and cheap debt to drive returns. In its latest Global Real Estate Outlook report, M&G Real Estate says real estate investors will need to rely on generating high yields and growth in an economic environment of increased interest rates and debt costs that now dominate many markets.

The era of big data has only increased investor interest in the growing data centre sector globally. The Asia Pacific’s data centre market in particular is expected to reach US$53.58 billion in 2028, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 percent from 2023 to 2028, according to Dublin-based Research and Markets.

The current economic environment is creating challenges for investors and occupiers to make the case for investing in retrofitting and future-proofing their real estate. JLL’s new The Commercial Case for Making Buildings More Sustainable report outlines three key factors that should be prioritised in occupiers’ and owners’ decision making to create a more resilient and sustainable built environment.

Nearshoring into Mexico as an investment theme is premised on the idea that the United States does a splendid job manufacturing high-end goods as well as goods requiring loads of cheap energy inputs. Conversely, it struggles to profitably produce goods requiring significant cheap labour inputs. On paper, Mexico is the perfect partner. The countries enjoy a six-to-one manufacturing wage differential, are close culturally and geographically, and northern Mexico has a decades-long track record of partnering with American manufacturers. A match made in heaven? Not so fast.