Outlook 2026: increasing real estate/infrastructure crossover
Real estate needs to be redefined in these times of transition and transformation, experts agreed at Real Asset Media’s European Outlook 2026 – Germany: emerging trends and opportunities briefing, which took place this week in Frankfurt, hosted by PwC.
“We see ourselves at the intersection between real estate and infrastructure”, said Dominik Brambring, Managing Partner, Periskop Opportunities. “There is an increasing crossover between the two, just think of healthcare, senior housing and ambulatory care. We need to bring the two sides together.”
A new mindset is needed because external circumstances have become more challenging.
“There was great positivity at the beginning of 2025, then Trump’s tariffs came in and sentiment plunged”, said Brambring. “We hear a lot of concern about Europe and its prospects, there is much uncertainty and disappointment out there and we do not expect any help from yield compression or interest rates.”
More progress is expected in 2026, as the new mindset gets embedded.
“Investors want stable cashflows and long-term contracts”, said Susanne Eickermann-Riepe, Chair of the RICS European World Regional Board, RICS. “I believe a lot of capital will flow into infrastructure.”
Capital raising is already easier for infrastructure than for real estate and there is a shift in institutional capital away from traditional sectors like offices and into new asset classes.
“It is a process that needs to happen”, said Brambring. “New strategies that are normal in the United States need to be established in Europe as well. Change is needed to get things moving.”
There are signs that change is happening, encouraged if not forced by the need to attract capital to these strategies.
“We are on the edge of dramatic change in the real estate sector”, said Andreas Walter, Partner, Attorney at Law, Yester & Morrow. “Infrastructure and real estate assets need to be combined, so you can have the best of both worlds.”
Banks, alternative lenders, pension funds and insurance companies are all rethinking their strategies and their priorities to deal with the new reality on the ground.
“Banks are willing to be more active and the big private debt funds are stepping in”, said Thomas Veith, Partner, Global Real Estate Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers. “There is a focus on value-add and development, taking more risks in exchange for higher returns. The market is becoming more competitive, like in the US, so volumes are likely to pick up in Europe as well.”
Availability of land, strict regulations and the difficulty in obtaining planning permits are clear obstacles in Europe, but they can be overcome if there is enough incentive to take on development risk with a long-term view.
“2026 is likely to be turbulent but the market will get moving”, said Walter. “There is no alternative: the combination of real estate and infrastructure is the future.”
