AFIRE News

Solar is no longer just about ESG—it’s a strategic investment that boosts NOI, increases property valuations, and hedges against rising energy costs.

Take the new AFIRE H2 2025 Investor Survey, with 16 questions, 9–12 minutes to complete. Deadline: August 8. Results published September 2025.

When we expand the definition of what constitutes an “energy real estate investment,” the aperture needs to be broadened so that related opportunities become part of the capital discussion.

America’s severe shortage of housing and energy poses an existential threat to the viability of long-term infrastructure investment. Yet with coordinated action from energy and real estate investors, we can meet America’s economic goals.

The commercial solar landscape in the US is shifting, driven by new policies, evolving incentives, and rising investor interest. So what’s new, what’s next, and what matters most for thew future of solar?

Energy isn’t just a service. It’s the foundation of our economy, cities, and future. Understanding its evolving and growing role cannot be optional for real estate investors.

AFIRE is seeking general article proposals for Summit Journal #19, with a broad focus on economic trends, market analyses, and other topics relevant to the current conversation for cross-border investment into US real estate.

While the commercial real estate sector has been a longtime energy consumer, new energy technologies and innovative partnerships with the energy sector could be leading to a new industry convergence.

Summit Journal Issue 18 is the first entry of AFIRE’s new “Real Estate Power Initiative,” focused on the intersection of energy and commercial real estate and the future of collaborative development.

Ben van Loon, Managing Director of AFIRE has been named by GlobeSt. as one of CRE’s Aspiring Leaders of 2025.

Syndication continues to grow in popularity among lenders, which is also introducing a host of legal issues into the market. (Part two of a two-part series.)
Investment innovator Neville Rhone Jr. describes the new opportunities found in commercial real estate’s “middle market.”

Real estate leaders have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of their companies and shareholders, and increasingly, this means incorporating cybersecurity awareness to board governance. But what does good governance actually look like in the real estate space?
Investment innovator Neville Rhone Jr. describes the new opportunities found in commercial real estate’s “middle market.”

It is tempting to pass on a strategy that appears right in the crosshairs of a trade policy regime change, yet the degree to which border port industrial markets have been undersupplied has been persistently dramatic and becoming more so.

In the face of geopolitical disruption, global diversification, including focused investment into US real estate, is more than a defensive move—it’s a pathway to resilience and growth.

Housing affordability in the US is now near its lowest levels since the early 1980s. It was already a major challenge before the pandemic but has become more acute since then—and the problem is likely to persist for several years.

Already leveraged for other commercial real estate asset types, mass timber has the potential to revolutionize industrial real estate development by offering sustainable, durable, and efficient construction solutions.

The AFIRE Q1 2025 Investor Survey provides key insights into the commercial real estate strategy of global investors.

In the face of increased technological proliferation, property owners must develop new systems that not only safeguard their intellectual and physical assets, but also verify and track digital interactions (and revenue) tied to their properties.
Media Coverage

Only a few years after many observers were declaring that New York City, San Francisco and other gateway U.S. cities have forever lost their appeal to commercial real estate investors, new sentiment surveys are showing gateway markets are coming back in favor.

The U.S. media continues putting rising interest rates and ongoing inflationary concerns in its headlines. Yet despite all of this, international institutional investors continue to view U.S. commercial real estate as “a preferred destination, relative to Europe, for real estate investment across property types,” according to a recent survey released by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE).

More than 20 properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area tied to commercial mortgage-backed securities are considered to be financially stressed as property values decline or vacancy rises, reflecting the nationwide fallout from reduced demand.

AFIRE, the association for international real estate investors focused on commercial property in the United States, has released its AFIRE International Investor Survey: Q1 2023 Pulse Report, underwritten by Holland Partner Group.

Allocations among top investors for commercial real estate in the US were up 6% over a year ago, while European investments declined by 5%, according to a survey by AFIRE.

The U.S. remains a preferred global destination for commercial real estate investment with allocations up 6% from 2022, compared to a 5% decline in European investment, according to AFIRE’s International Investor Survey: Q1 2023 Pulse Report.

AFIRE, the association for international real estate investors focused on commercial property in the United States, has released its AFIRE International Investor Survey: Q1 2023 Pulse Report, underwritten by Holland Partner Group.

The US trails the EU on adoption of ESG investment principles, with a consensus that more incentives are needed for momentum.

Real estate company Climate Core Capital and the Harvard Graduate School of Design explored how quickly some of the nation’s most desirable real estate markets would heat up beyond the point of tolerable human living in what they called a “Death Valley Index.”

While the strong dollar makes acquisitions costlier, the U.S. offers a safe haven from geopolitical upheaval.

AFIRE survey shows reuse, redevelopment top of mind as market turbulence looms.

AFIRE released its Summer 2022 International Survey Pulse this past week, which found mounting concerns about US commercial real estate.

Foreign institutional investors are adapting to market headwinds as they grapple with mounting inflation and rising interest rates in the US, according to the latest survey from AFIRE, the association for international real estate investors focused on commercial property here.

Chicago’s tech sector is on the rise, but to keep the momentum going, commercial real estate brokers and investors alike advise investing in places for well-paid tech talent to live.

Rising rates and inflation are making it hard for foreign investors to assign correct valuations to assets. But experts say those are temporary setbacks and cross-border investment will rebound.

On this episode, Gunnar shared his insights on why the U.S. Real Estate Market continues to attract foreign investors.

Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have led bipartisan meetings with lawmakers over the last two weeks to explore potential areas of agreement for a scaled-back energy and climate legislative package before the midterm elections.

Foreign investors in commercial real estate have long preferred to place their money in a small handful of top-tier cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

For thirty years, AFIRE (Association for International Real Estate Investors) has conducted an annual survey to understand the goals, challenges and long-term thinking of international investors in U.S. real estate. Show host Michael Bull interviews AFIRE CEO Gunnar Branson on the results and insights from this year’s survey.

New favorites are emerging as international buyers plan bigger allocations this year.