There’s an expression you might have heard variations of. It goes something like this: if you invest in real estate, you’ll never go broke. You may have also heard it expressed with the adage that you should always try to invest in land, since they’re not making any more of it.
However, in 2025, virtually any real estate digital marketing agency will tell you there’s more volatility than at certain other points in history. Whether you’re investing in undeveloped land, residential structures, or commercial properties, the global outlook is a little shaky.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invest in real estate. It just means that you should be aware of existing trends before you sink all your money into it.
Let’s take a few moments to examine the global market outlook for real estate here in the second half of 2025.
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What’s True in One Country or Region May Not Be the Case Elsewhere
First, it’s crucial to note that attempting to identify trends in the global real estate market in any given year can be difficult at best. The market may be hot in one city and ice cold one county over.
That is certainly true with countries as well. On any particular continent, one country’s real estate market may be booming, while one relatively close by may be stagnant.
This is something you will want to think about if you’re going to invest in real estate right now. There are certain universalities you can probably identify if you look at the worldwide market, though, so let’s focus on those.
There’s Resilience Amid Uncertainty
The phrase “resilience amid uncertainty” has been used by some to describe what’s happening with the global real estate market at the moment. This expression reflects the volatility of global economies, rapid shifts in trade policies, and various ongoing geopolitical events.
You can point to the US as being one of the major causes of all of it. The current administration’s on-again, off-again tariffs have made it difficult for some individuals and corporate entities to know what the best move is going forward in regard to their real estate holdings.
While some housing markets in the US remain relatively stable up to this point, the fact that there’s no consensus regarding what goods are going to be taxed and how high the tariffs on them are going to be remains a real source of concern in some sectors. This is true both for a family of four who might be looking for a starter home and a real estate holdings company looking to snatch up properties they plan to make available for rent.
The fact that the real estate market hasn’t completely collapsed, though, is what is meant by resilience in this context. Instead of a complete collapse, what we’re seeing in many sectors, both in the US and abroad, is a slowdown. It seems as though many would-be real estate buyers, both of residential properties and undeveloped land parcels, are taking a wait and see approach for now.
Elevated Construction Costs
To play devil’s advocate, if we were to say that tariffs will go into effect soon in a way that we haven’t yet fully seen, it seems likely that the slowdown in the real estate market we’ve witnessed recently could turn into this sector almost completely grinding to a halt. That makes sense, since the elevated cost of a construction project might lead to a company that owns a piece of land not wanting to develop it until they’re seeing a more economically advantageous situation.
If elevated construction costs are seen, and they’re significantly changing the total price tag of planned projects, then land could sit undeveloped. Also, economic uncertainty on a broader scale could lead to some individuals and families who might have once looked for a home to continue renting until they feel their jobs and incomes are more secure.
Corporations Buying Property
Ignoring for a moment the uncertainty regarding the economy and building materials, there’s also the ongoing storyline of corporations buying up residential properties with the idea of renting them out. This is seen if one looks at companies like Blackstone.
Here we have a corporate entity that is buying up single-family and multifamily homes in an effort to make them less accessible by the general public. It’s an easy way to increase the value of their already impressive portfolio, though it may not be to the liking of some consumers.
This kind of thing isn’t unique to the US, though. We’re also seeing some of these efforts in Asian countries.
This real estate strategy is seeing the most traction in areas with the fastest population growth. Again, from an economic standpoint, this is a technique that makes sense from a bottom line perspective. A company most interested in profit would do well to make fewer properties available for purchase, since that means renting becomes a more viable option for the average consumer.
What Does the Future Look Like in Real Estate?
It would be accurate to say there’s a commonality across several countries and territories that won’t be changing anytime soon. In many sectors, wages are stagnant. It means that, as the price of homes goes up exponentially, fewer individuals and families will be able to buy. They will opt for renting more, especially as mortgage rates continue to climb.
As for commercial properties, there has been an increased effort by many companies to have employees physically return to work if they had been using a work-from-home method. These methods were popularized during the pandemic, but now, many corporations are looking to change course.
This is probably because commercial properties are devalued if they’re not being used. If urban centers see little use because more individuals are working from home, then it becomes less palatable for companies to rent office buildings.
In these ways, we see a certain degree of push and pull between the average consumer or worker and the corporations that seek to make a profit.
