Key Takeaways
- • Global real estate investment volumes reached $380 billion in H1 2025, virtually flat compared to $376 billion in H1 2024, demonstrating market resilience despite macroeconomic headwinds.
- • Office sector investment surged 12% year-on-year in Q2 2025 to $45 billion globally, with US office transactions jumping 50% as limited supply and low development pipelines strengthen the investment thesis for rental growth.
- • Senior living sub-sector posted exceptional growth of 80% year-to-date through H1 2025 to $15 billion, offsetting a 9% decline in broader living sector investment to $58 billion in Q2.
- • Industrial and logistics investment declined 10% in Q2 2025 to $42 billion but remained stable at H1 levels of $86 billion, following three consecutive quarters of growth.
- • Improved buyer-seller sentiment, greater price acceptance, and strong occupational market fundamentals position real estate for a recovery, with Savills identifying multiple preconditions for accelerating investment activity.
Summary
Global real estate investment demonstrated resilience in the first half of 2025, with $380 billion deployed across markets worldwide—essentially flat versus the $376 billion invested during the same period in 2024. According to Savills' latest 'Takes Stock' Global Capital Markets report, while aggregate volumes show limited growth trajectory, the underlying market dynamics suggest recovery conditions are taking shape. The firm identified several favorable conditions for renewed capital deployment, including improved sentiment among institutional and private investors, increased willingness to transact on both buy and sell sides, greater acceptance of pricing levels, and continued strength in occupational market fundamentals.
Q2 2025 activity illustrates the sector-by-sector variance characterizing the current market. Total commercial real estate investment reached $193 billion in the quarter, down 5% year-on-year, but this headline decline masks significant divergence across property types. The office sector emerged as a particular bright spot, with completed transactions totaling $45 billion globally—a nearly 12% increase compared to Q2 2024. The US market led gains with a notable 50% increase in office investment, albeit from historically depressed levels. Savills attributed this recovery to diminishing investor reservations about the office sector, combined with structural supply constraints and minimal new development pipelines, particularly across US and EMEA markets. These factors create confidence in sustained rental growth prospects and support the investment case for the sector going forward.
The living sector presented a mixed picture. Q2 transactions fell 9% year-on-year to $58 billion, yet the sector finished H1 2025 up 8% relative to the prior year, driven by a robust start to the year. Senior living emerged as the standout performer, with year-to-date investment reaching $15 billion—an exceptional 80% increase—signaling strong institutional appetite for demographics-driven real estate. Savills noted that while global investor demand in living sectors remains firm overall, constrained deal flow and limited opportunities to deploy capital in certain markets are moderating transaction volumes.
Industrial and logistics real estate, a sector that benefited from pandemic-era demand, recorded Q2 investment of $42 billion, representing a 10% year-on-year decline. However, this retreat followed three consecutive quarters of positive growth, and H1 2025 volumes remained essentially stable at $86 billion compared to $87 billion in H1 2024. The sector's resilience despite quarterly declines underscores the underlying durability of real estate fundamentals and capital availability.
Q2 2025 activity illustrates the sector-by-sector variance characterizing the current market. Total commercial real estate investment reached $193 billion in the quarter, down 5% year-on-year, but this headline decline masks significant divergence across property types. The office sector emerged as a particular bright spot, with completed transactions totaling $45 billion globally—a nearly 12% increase compared to Q2 2024. The US market led gains with a notable 50% increase in office investment, albeit from historically depressed levels. Savills attributed this recovery to diminishing investor reservations about the office sector, combined with structural supply constraints and minimal new development pipelines, particularly across US and EMEA markets. These factors create confidence in sustained rental growth prospects and support the investment case for the sector going forward.
The living sector presented a mixed picture. Q2 transactions fell 9% year-on-year to $58 billion, yet the sector finished H1 2025 up 8% relative to the prior year, driven by a robust start to the year. Senior living emerged as the standout performer, with year-to-date investment reaching $15 billion—an exceptional 80% increase—signaling strong institutional appetite for demographics-driven real estate. Savills noted that while global investor demand in living sectors remains firm overall, constrained deal flow and limited opportunities to deploy capital in certain markets are moderating transaction volumes.
Industrial and logistics real estate, a sector that benefited from pandemic-era demand, recorded Q2 investment of $42 billion, representing a 10% year-on-year decline. However, this retreat followed three consecutive quarters of positive growth, and H1 2025 volumes remained essentially stable at $86 billion compared to $87 billion in H1 2024. The sector's resilience despite quarterly declines underscores the underlying durability of real estate fundamentals and capital availability.
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