The great rotation has also reached the real estate sector. The global geopolitical storm unleashed with Donald Trump's arrival to the US presidency at the beginning of the year has caused a shift of investors from the American real estate to the European one, and in that movement, Spain is one of the countries most benefited by the arrival of money with real estate as the destination.
The country has climbed to the fifth position as a preferred destination for international investors, up from the eighth position it held at the end of 2024, surpassing neighbors like France and behind United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and Japan, in that order, according to the latest Colliers report on Global Capital Flows.
Precisely on the podium is another of the most representative shifts in this great global investment rotation, as the United States has lost the first position in the first quarter of the year, coinciding with Trump's arrival at the White House. Even though the so-called day of liberation (April 2) had not yet taken place, the unpredictability of the Republican's announcements since taking office had already instilled uncertainty among investors and markets, who have been recalibrating their strategies and seeking safer places for their investments since the beginning of 2025.
This explains the decline in the United States and the rise of Europe on the global real estate investment map: faced with increasing geopolitical uncertainty, investors are reassessing their investment strategies by choosing destinations with greater security. Thus, the Old Continent has established itself as the preferred region worldwide, surpassing North America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Specifically, as explained by the consultancy firm Colliers, there has been a shift in the intentions of global investors in the first quarter of 2025, moving away from the North American investment market, which is at risk of losing its status as a global safe haven. "This investor position is shifting towards Europe, while numerous European investors are increasing their investment in the Asia-Pacific market," they specify.
Between January and March, there has been a strong momentum in raising funds for the commercial real estate sector globally. As of May 2025, it is estimated that 58.000 billion dollars in new funds have already been raised, representing almost half (44%) of the total in 2024 and confirming a strong recovery in investment in this segment. Turbulences in other markets such as stocks or the global fixed income seem to be reinforcing the value of real estate as a safe asset and a source of profitability for investors.
In Spain alone, between January and March, the investment volume reached 4.312 billion euros, 31% more than the previous year, almost a third of the total accumulated in 2024 (13.150 billion) and almost half of 2023 (10.992 billion), according to data from Colliers provided to EL MUNDO. By segments, alternative assets accounted for the majority, with 1.246 billion euros invested, followed by the retail sector (1.040 billion), living (833 million), and hotels (522 million). The progress, according to Alberto Díaz, Managing Director of Capital Markets at the firm, specifies that this progress "is not coincidental." "The macroeconomic stability of our country, together with a correction in prices in certain market segments, has generated attractive opportunities for institutional and private investors. The significant increase in fundraising augurs higher levels of real estate investment in the medium term, with Spain as a strategic destination in the new global capital flows map," he elaborates.
"The markets in the European region, with Spain standing out, offer an attractive combination of transparency, liquidity, and price stability," comments Luke Dawson, Director of Global Capital Markets and EMEA at Colliers.