Real Asset Media Thought Leaders

Rate cuts to support US commercial real estate recovery, says Vikram Killampali, Helaba

Falling interest rates should help revive activity across the US commercial real estate market, supporting higher transaction and lending volumes, according to Vikram Killampali, senior director and manager of US commercial real estate finance syndications at Helaba.

Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, Killampali was taking part in what he said was the first panel hosted in Germany by a US real estate lending organisation, aimed at giving European investors greater visibility on conditions and opportunities in the US commercial real estate market.

He said the outlook for interest rates was turning more supportive for deal activity. “Right now, because there's a story about declining interest rates, that should be positive for the commercial real estate market, and that should spur activity, acquisition volume and more loan volume for banks like Helaba,” he said.

He said the office sector continues to represent the main area of stress across US commercial real estate lending. “The challenge that I can see is consistent with what we've been experiencing for the past 18 months, which is in the office subsector, where there has been the most distress,” Killampali said.

He added that the impact of the pandemic continues to weigh on office markets in many US cities. “After COVID, the office subsector and a lot of markets got hit very, very badly, and that's what caused a lot of loan losses for banks like Helaba and others with an office portfolio,” he said.

Despite these pressures, Killampali said he remains positive on the medium-term outlook. “With that said, [I'm] excited about the prospects of commercial real estate industry in the US in the next couple of years.”

Positive momentum builds in CEE student housing and serviced living, Heribert Gangl

Heribert Gangl, head of hotels and tourism at Erste Group Bank, said Central and Eastern Europe is entering a new phase of maturity in student housing and serviced living as demand spreads from more established Western European markets.

Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, he said: "There seems to be good, positive dynamics in student housing and serviced living in CEE now, spreading over from the more established, mature western markets, and these are also the CEE markets where we focus on and are very keen to find new assets in this asset class."

Gangl highlighted that institutional activity is reshaping the market as major operators extend their reach across the region. "What we have seen is now that there are a few dominant players building really large, sustainable platforms who are also now expanding in these parts, and this is going to continue, I believe, with a few major brands and owners, as investors are developing this space currently, especially due to student housing."

He added that although inflation-led rent growth may begin to ease, demand drivers remain strong. "I think in the last two years this growth has obviously been driven by the overall inflation, the underlying inflation, and with that, the rent increases in the residential market, so I would expect this to slow down with the slowing inflation rates as well."

He said: "But overall there's still a good growth perspective in terms of demand and on the rent side for student housing and serviced living products and co-living products, which is very much linked to the local residential market."

Senior living in Europe is an opportunity for US investors: Jennifer Dixon, JD Solutions Group

Jennifer Dixon, founder and chief executive officer of JD Solutions Group, said the European senior living sector offers a significant opportunity for US investors as demographic pressures and low penetration rates begin to reshape demand across the region.

Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, she said the level of global interest remains striking.

"There were so many different takeaways from [the] sessions and I think what was really surprising to me is that there is still just an incredible amount of interest and opportunity in the senior living market when we speak to that globally," she said.

Dixon noted that the US market has already undergone consolidation and a rise in investor sophistication. "In the United States, we’ve seen significant condensing of operators and investment and we’ve seen a real sophistication on the part of investors in terms of understanding how they look at the data and their own operating structure," she said. "So, that’s been really interesting to look at and it’ll be an interesting theme to see as investors from all over the world and from the US come into this market — what that will play out as."

She said American investors looking towards Europe need to understand regional nuances. "The more that US and American investors can understand the opportunities in the European and the German market, the market in Spain, the market in UK — it’s important for them to understand some of the nuances of those markets to be able to feel confident and investing there," she said.

A key part of that, she added, is recognising the strength of the local operators already active in the market. "There are great and fantastic operators who are already in the space right now in Europe. And that’s been my greatest takeaway of meeting some of these incredible operators and learning about the things that they are doing."

Dixon highlighted the scale of the opportunity by comparing penetration rates. "If you were just to look at the numbers right now, when you look at the market penetration in the United States can be anywhere from maybe 6% on the low end, all the way up to 12, 13, 14% in some heavily dense markets," she said.

By contrast, she said, the figure in Europe remains far lower. "When you take that and you compare it to looking at the markets in Europe — I believe the number I heard was less than 1% in terms of market penetration, that’s an incredible opportunity," she said. "And if you pair that with looking at the incoming wave of boomers who are coming right now, it’s very similar across the board."

She said the shortage of housing options for seniors is now becoming a global issue. "We are facing a shortage of housing options for our seniors. And, so, this is a problem that we can all work together to solve," she said. "There are many misperceptions and misconceptions about senior living."

Even in the US, she added, misunderstanding persists. "And even in an advanced market like the United States where senior living has been around for a long time, there is still this false perception that it isn’t about independence, it isn’t about preventative health. It isn’t about any of those things," she said.

Looking ahead, Dixon said the messaging around senior living needs to reflect its real purpose. "When we look at the messages that we have to carry, we have to understand how senior housing can help support that," she said. "What we’re looking at is how do we help our residents, our seniors live longer, live stronger, live very vibrant lives."

www.SHHA.international

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Digital strategy and AI critical for real estate companies: Daniele Di Fausto, eFM

Digital transformation is becoming an urgent priority for real estate owners and occupiers as artificial intelligence reshapes operating models, according to Daniele Di Fausto, chief executive officer at eFM.

Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, he said the sector is only now beginning to confront the scale of change required.

"The market is starting, so digital players, especially in the real estate, are far behind digitalisation, but now artificial intelligence is coming, and some clients are preparing for the new journey," he said. "There are three reasons that real estate, especially for corporations, is a non-core function. So, they invest more in the production side, in the core business, and not in the real estate."

He added that digital adoption has been held back by organisational silos and a historical lack of pressure to cut costs. "Now the situation has completely changed, so we are living in a crisis, and companies are trying to adapt easily; otherwise, they will be out of the market."

Di Fausto said the most immediate benefit for clients is the speed of decision-making. "The level of ability to change in getting information, in processing and getting fast results is one of the key drivers. After some time that they are using, the other point is productivity. And, so, efficiency is a consequence of the adoption."

Yet cultural resistance remains one of the biggest obstacles. "Even internally, they are struggling to have training and explaining the benefits of this approach to the employee. And the reason why is that AI will even cut a lot of jobs. And, so, the adoption has even negative consequences in the employment of the people."

eFM is working with major corporates undergoing large-scale transformation. "We have different big clients in Germany. One of the biggest is Bosch. So, we have corporations that have millions of sq m, and they are facing this transformation, so they are using eFM in order to make a transformation in the digital estate," he said.

"In the United States, even we have big clients like Samsung, San Diego Gas & Electric."

Banks across Europe are also reconsidering how branches should operate in a digital environment. "It's very important to start with a pilot project to prove the value of the technology and then to prepare the scalability," he said. "What we are seeing is that most of the companies are building digital agents for their employees."

Demographic pressures add urgency. "In the next five years, the workforce in Europe will be half. So, the big problem that we will face is the number of people with a technician background [who will retire]. No new people coming from university," he said. "How we can face the loss of knowledge and how AI can be another [resource] to help this transition and not losing the knowledge and helping us to increase the productivity?"

He expects hybrid human–AI teams to become commonplace. "In the next five years, we will have a lot of teams hybrid with normal people and digital agents to be managed in an integrated way. And this will be a cultural issue for a manager to have an employee and agents to manage together."

Di Fausto warned that companies that delay action risk falling behind. "It's becoming a necessity not to postpone the adoption of digitalisation. Without data, it's not possible to have a digital strategy," he said.

"More they will start, more they will learn. But if they do not start, they will lose the competition to others very, very soon. So not having a strategy in place with artificial intelligence in real estate can cost millions of euros to the company that will start in one year or two year time frame."

www.realassetimpact.com

www.realassetmedia.com

Romania's North-East promotes strategic location and €1.75bn EU investment package, Sebastian Hrib

Romania's North-East region is positioning itself as an emerging investment destination, backed by major EU funding, expanding industrial capacity and proximity to fast-developing markets.

Speaking to Courtney Fingar, editor of REAL FDI, Sebastian Hrib, head of the Brussels Office at the North-East Regional Development Agency of Romania, said the area combines untapped potential with accelerating modernisation.

The region covers around 37,000 square kilometres – larger than Belgium – and is home to 3.3 million people. It benefits from a €1.75 billion EU investment package running through 2027.

Iași, the region's largest city, acts as a research and innovation hub supported by universities, R&D centres and one of Romania's busiest airports. The wider area has industrial heritage, an expanding agro-food sector and a developing technology ecosystem.

Priority sectors, based on the region's smart specialisation strategy, include IT&C, health, energy and environment, textiles, tourism and agrifood.

When asked what is drawing foreign interest, Hrib pointed to strategic positioning. "We are in a window of opportunity that opens only once in a couple of decades due to geopolitical status," he said. "We sit right next to Ukraine and Moldova. Ukraine, we already know, will need reconstruction. And Moldova is an EU candidate state, a future part of the EU single market."

The region offers multiple entry points for investors, supported by 4.5% unemployment, nine industrial parks with expansion capacity, and state aid intensity of 50–60% of investment value.

"Add to that political stability, the next elections are in four years, and a high number of people who speak English and make doing business easier," he said.

Priority locations include industrial parks near Iași, Bacău, and Suceava, which are positioned to become technology and logistics hubs. Dedicated EU funding is available for infrastructure, digitalisation and innovation.

Hrib acknowledged the region faces lower GDP per capita, labour productivity needs and infrastructure gaps. However, he stressed that foreign direct investment can help close the gap.

"To do that, we need to become more competitive, to create more value and to bring in industries that generate high added value and naturally high wages," he said.

A key strength is the local talent pipeline. "We are the largest academic hub in Eastern Romania, with more than 60,000 students every year. And that is a powerful engine for any investor looking for long-term growth."

International companies, including Amazon and Continental, are already active in the region, alongside Romanian groups such as Antibiotice and Autonom.

The North-East Regional Development Agency works with local authorities and financial institutions to support incoming investors.

"The most important message today is we are reliable, open and fast to respond," Hrib said. "As an investor or consultant, you will always find an answer, a partner and a solution with us."

Investors can contact the agency via LinkedIn or through its website aderenordest.ro.

www.realfdi.com

www.realassetmedia.com

Regional and domestic investors increase their exposure to Polish real estate, Michał Mieciński, CMS

Regional investors and domestic buyers are playing a growing role in Poland's real estate market as cross-border capital within Central and Eastern Europe expands and Polish businesses increase their exposure to institutional assets.

Speaking to Real Asset Media after a CEE investment briefing held at the CMS offices in London, Michał Mieciński, partner in the real estate and construction team at CMS, said the event brought together leading industry panellists and highlighted both the market’s growing maturity and the shift in capital sources.

"One of the subjects we've been discussing was the source of capital, and we see regional capital being more and more important."

He noted that neighbouring countries are increasingly active in Poland. "For example, Czech investors investing into Poland, Lithuanian investors investing into real estate in Poland. So, we see this intra-regional cooperation and investment opportunities."

However, a long-delayed policy change continues to weigh on the market. "Unfortunately, we don't have REITs in Poland, and work on that structure has been suspended so far by the Polish government," he said. "We still do hope that this will return, and eventually we'll have REITs in Poland."

Despite that absence, domestic buyers are increasingly active. "In the recent year, we see significant increase of Polish capital into real estate transactions. Compared to last year, when it was roughly 10% of all investments in Poland, this year it's roughly 25%," he said.

The trend is visible across multiple sectors. "So, we see Polish businesses investing into institutional real estate, into offices, but also other sectors."

Financials to drive Europe’s retrofit push, Aleksander Grabecki, CMS

Financial considerations are becoming the driving force behind Europe’s decarbonisation of real estate, according to Aleksander Grabecki, counsel at CMS.

Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, he said retrofitting is now the only viable route to meet looming EU climate deadlines.

Grabecki said landlords face a tight regulatory window. “The EU is pretty clear about all the buildings needing to be net zero in 2030. It’s in five years, basically; it’s one lease cycle away — not much time.”

He added that “80% of the existing buildings will be with us until 2050, so much longer”, meaning new developments cannot replace enough stock to meet demand.

He pointed to the sector’s carbon footprint. “The built environment is accountable for 42% of the carbon emissions worldwide… and two-thirds of that is really operational carbon footprint, and only one-third is the embodied carbon footprint.”

This means, he said, that “construction and demolition of the buildings is only one-third, and two-thirds is the energy bills, water consumption, things like that, so it’s decades of bills being paid”.

The financial case for retrofitting now aligns directly with ESG outcomes. “The conclusion of that is that we really can do it and should do it from the financial perspective… so basically, caring about the melting icebergs is also caring about the Excel of the financial fund.”

Digital tools are strengthening the link between emissions reduction and operating costs. “Now with AI and much more digital tools like building information modelling (BIM), and things like that, real estate agencies offering services like plug-ins to building management systems (BMS), allowing you to cut costs for some savings that could translate into rent increases; it really creates a good environment actually to tweak with the ESG credentials.”

He said the key message from the market is clear: “This is the key takeaway, when we can basically marry the financials with caring about the climate.”

Poland’s student housing sector enters next stage of institutional growth, Agata Jurek-Zbrojska, CMS

Poland's living sectors are evolving from niche offerings into recognised institutional investment products as student housing, micro-living, and co-living models expand across the market, according to Agata Jurek-Zbrojska, partner and head of real estate and construction at CMS in Poland.

Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, she said the evolution of those sub-sectors across Europe has changed how investors view the wider living market.

"It's wonderful to observe the students' housing and the other sectors of living like micro living and co-living in [recent] years in Europe," she said. "I think that this evolved from the niche sector to the [core] real estate asset class, and we do see in particular student housing models as the investment products in Europe, across all countries in fact."

Although Poland remains earlier in its development cycle, she said growth is strong and accelerating.

"For Poland this is still the really very dynamically evolving asset class," she said. "We still do have a shortage of professional student housing. Micro and co-living are really, really like a micro percentage, but this is really growing, in particular the student housing."

The rise is mainly driven by the influx of international students and the expansion of English-language programmes at Polish universities.

"This is connected in particular with the flow of international students to the Polish cities, and of course again this is connected with the evolution of the Polish universities, which focused also on growing possibilities for international students to study in English," she said.

Jurek-Zbrojska expects demand to continue strengthening in the short term as more investors seek exposure to the sector.

"So, that's really important. In the short term, I think that this dynamic will be the same. So, there will be an inflow of new investors, I hope, in this sector."

She said macroeconomic conditions remain an external factor, but Poland's fundamentals present a solid case for capital targeting student housing.

"Of course, everything depends on the macroeconomic situation and some questions which we cannot answer, and they are independent of anybody, of ourselves," she said. "But taking into account the economic growth and other economic indicators in Poland, I believe that this will give strong arguments for investors to come to this sector in particular."

She added that both international and domestic student growth — combined with rising household incomes — should support continued market expansion.

"When you see the growth of international students coming, the growth of the students — also national — and obviously the economic growth in Poland allows also the national students to use a bit more expensive student accommodation," she said.

AI and cleaner data can transform real estate decision-making, Mike Harrison, NTrust

Property and investment managers are still struggling to work effectively with the volume of data generated across real estate, but AI tools and closer alignment between stakeholders can significantly improve outcomes, according to Mike Harrison, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at NTrust.

Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, Harrison said the sector continues to grapple with incomplete, inconsistent datasets. "The industry is still struggling with data. There's a lot of data. Is it clean data, and is it available when you need it? Is it comprehensive? Does it cover all the components needed to make good business decisions? The answer today is not really."

He said AI and structured human-in-the-loop processes can materially accelerate data preparation and standardisation.

"Now with AI and with human-in-the-loop capabilities, structured capabilities in terms of managing process, we can turn data around very much more effectively as a platform through data as a service, and so by applying AI concepts and algorithms to the data, we can now clean it much faster and provide more data on a more regular basis."

For investment managers, the priority is speed. "As an investment manager, you're always looking for the opportunity to source the data quickly, so you can do your real job, which is managing the asset and determining the strategies and within the lifecycle," he said. "But a lot of time we spend just cleaning and managing data."

Harrison said better coordination between property managers and investment managers remains essential.

"The idea is to get the property managers on the same page with the investment managers on process and timing and what is needed in terms of reporting," he said. "So I think that is the biggest challenge, and finding the right hub to share information and have visibility and accountability is critical to the process."

He added that firms should always test operational changes before fully rolling them out.

"If you're looking at a technology, a new process, a change in organisation structure, a third-party provider, you always pilot that first, confirm that it's really going to work before you put your feet in. Change management's big."

NTrust supports clients through these transitions with structured frameworks. "What we do is we provide playbooks and onboarding concepts and then project management around that through our organisation and through some of our partners to help clients make that change because it is a big change," he said.

Harrison emphasised that clear objectives and strong communication are vital. "It is important to plan and to structure with any type of change, whether it's organisational change, process change, data and system changes. You always want to put together a plan, and the plan is not just to get through it," " he said.

"The plan is to improve things, have good objectives, and then set the plan out for everyone to understand, buy into the process, have the objectives in front of everyone so they understand what you're really trying to achieve and then work together. It's important; communications are critical."

"We support all of that. We're engaged in a lot of that. We have partners that do that work, but it's critical for our clients as we walk through the process together," he said.

AI set to transform data as a service for investment managers, Martin Betts, NTrust

Martin Betts, vice-president of commercial real estate, EMEA, at NTrust, said real estate investors are increasingly frustrated by the time and money they spend trying to manage fragmented data, a problem he argues can now be solved with AI-driven tools.

Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, Betts said the issue has become a constant theme in conversations with senior executives.

“The question I'm being constantly asked, or it's just an issue they're having, is how much time people are spending trying to sort data out,” he said. “Literally, I've just come from a discussion with a CEO, a fund manager, where he said, I've fed up of paying people to just try and manage data and not utilise it. It's costing me a fortune.”

Betts said NTrust’s NSigma3 platform centralises and standardises multiple data types and formats so that fund managers and investment teams can focus on higher-value work.

“Our platform called NSigma3 solves that problem, where that problem is no longer dealt with by the fund manager or the investment manager,” he said.

“We're then dealing with that problem with data as a service, so we are leaving their data analyst team or their asset management team to go ahead and do their day-to-day jobs and not try and struggle with the complexities of multiple data types and formats and whatever from lots of different providers. Freeing them up to do their jobs, that's what our platform allows them to do.”

However, he said the market still needs clearer understanding of how the technology works and why this generation of platforms is different from earlier attempts. “Education is needed,” he said. “I think people have seen these data platforms come and go. This is different. The AI has been trained on 20 years of experience of all the data that's come through our business, and that allows real efficiencies in time.”

Betts added that the system blends automation with human oversight. “You do need the human in the loop, but 90% of that time is being taken by AI and 10% by the human reviewer to deliver data consistently, but also correctly as well.”