THE Association of Real Estate Consultants (ACI) held the second edition of its annual meeting with the press to analyze the main challenges, trends and role of investment in the different segments of the real estate sector. During the event, the president of … the association, Ricardo Martí – Fluxáunderlined that in an international context marked by uncertainty, “real estate has once again demonstrated its role as an anchor of stability” and reached record levels, closing the year 2025 with an investment estimated at 17 billion euros (data provided by consulting firms belonging to the Association). “This makes us one of the most dynamic sectors of the Spanish economy, generating jobs and wealth throughout the country,” said the president of the Association.
During the meeting, the ACI highlighted the need to move towards a State Housing Pact and Land Law based on technical criteria, with a long-term vision and with the active participation of the private sector. The association warned of the risks of legal uncertainty, the negative effects of regulatory excesses, citing Serpavi as an example, and administrative slowness which limit the sector’s ability to continue to generate the necessary supply of housing, jobs and economic activity.
Spain and Europe are facing a structural problem of access to housing, mainly derived from the imbalance between housing formed and housing produced. In Spain, around 200,000 housing units are created per year, compared to an annual production of 80,000 to 100,000 housing units, a gap which is expected to persist in the years to come, according to a report prepared by the association itself.
The ACI insisted that investment, both family and institutional, is an essential element to increase supply and make projects viable that otherwise could not be developed.
“Spain has the capacity, talent and experience to lead a modern, professional and sustainable real estate model. To achieve this, we need stability, collaboration with administrations and a predictable legislative environment,” concluded Martí-Fluxá.
By type of asset, the leaders of the consulting firms first highlighted the contrast in the office market between city centers and the outskirts. In the central areas of Madrid and Barcelona, availability is minimal — between 1% and 3% — with rents at historic levels. As explained Enrique Losantos (JLL)the contrast in the sector is extreme, illustrated in Madrid and Barcelona, there is no availability in the center while in the suburbs the offer is significant and sometimes degraded due to lack of occupancy. This is an opportunity to change uses, but it is a complex process.
For his part, Alejandro Campoy (Savills) He warned that office park for hotels, flex housing or other options is being destroyed and not being built. There is therefore less and less stock in the center and the increase in these rents will soon reach the periphery, even if it remains necessary to improve the quality of certain assets, because occupants demand increasingly demanding work spaces. Investment in offices by 2025 (until the third quarter) amounts to 1,727 million euros.
As for the retail segment, there is talk of a clear recovery, driven by the main streets, while secondary locations show more uneven behavior. According to Jesus Silva (Cushman and Wakefield)retail has returned to pre-pandemic levels in terms of supply and demand. In addition, it has attracted capital from various sources, bringing forward, for example, private capital in the shopping center sector. So much so that retail currently offers better returns than other assets with comparable risk. The investment until September was 2,841 million euros.
hotel investment
Regarding the hotel sector, experts highlighted that the hotel sector is going through a solid period, driven by the arrival of a larger international tourism sector with greater spending capacity. In 2024, ADR growth was 9.5% and by 2025 a further increase of around 5% is expected. MIkel Echavarren (Colliers) underlined that more than 50% of investments are of Spanish origin.
Regarding tourist apartments, although they can benefit the hotel sector, Echavarren affirmed that their destruction can have counterproductive effects such as the loss of tourist competitiveness of our cities compared to other markets. A clear example would be how reduced supply can negatively influence tourism at major events, as it reduces not only the ability of cities to accommodate their attendees, but also their ability to attract them. Investment in the hotel industry until September amounted to 3.239 million euros.
If we talk about the industrial and logistics segment, ACI members shared the concern of the logistics sector regarding the lack of energy capacity on industrial lands, one of the main bottlenecks for the development of new projects. Currently, around 50% of electricity connection requests are rejected due to network saturation.
According to Ignacio Martínez-Avial (BNP Paribas Real Estate), the sector attracts investments and the lack of energy capacity can attract investments to other countries. Thus, three million square meters do not have the energy they need, a fact that can also affect the residential and other sectors. Industrial and logistics investment 2025 in the third quarter amounted to 1,372 million euros.
Data centers
In terms of alternative assets, data centers are consolidated as one of those with the greatest growth potential, even if their development faces two major challenges: energy availability and the absence of a defined regulatory framework. Mikel Echavarren said that energy production is double what we consume, the problem is distribution. Only 5% of the market belongs to Europe, so investments are essential to avoid depending on other countries like China or the United States.
Adolfo Ramirez-Escudero (CBRE) He said that besides data centers, other segments such as agribusiness or sports attract great investment interest. These are markets with high potential which already represent up to 15% of investment and have great growth capacity. They stopped being alternatives and became a real alternative for the investor.
But the segment that arouses the most passion is the residential sector with an investment between January and September of 3.727 million euros, despite the fact that the ACI has warned of a persistent structural imbalance between housing creation and housing production. To reverse this situation, the sector requires more permanent land, administrative simplification and legal certainty.
According to Enrique Losantos (JLL), Spain needs 400,000 housing units, to which must be added the land deficit, construction costs, lack of labor and the generational problem of its replacement. “This is a situation that cannot be resolved in the short term.”
Regarding the land, Carlos López (Catella) highlighted that the finalist land is very attractive, it is one of the most demanded assets. To this must be added that the investor gets involved earlier, which involves uncertain time risks, but with high returns.
For his part, Adolfo Ramirez-Escudero (CBRE) confirmed that the lack of specialized operators prevents the Senior Living product from taking off in our country, unlike what is happening in other markets and the obvious aging of the population.
At lunch, the luxury sector was also analyzed, Humphrey White (Knight Frank) reported that, in cities like Madrid, 60% of buyers are Spanish and half from Madrid, followed by Catalans and the Latin American market evolves in different waves. Additionally, the North American market grew by approximately 10%.
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