The 2025 Real Estate Market Outlook explores global trends like urbanization, sustainability, and digital transformation, highlighting innovations such as smart building technologies and energy-efficient designs. It provides insights into how the industry adapts to affordability challenges, shifting demographics, and PropTech integration to meet evolving demands.
This report was last updated in January 2025.
Executive Summary: Real Estate Market Report 2025
- Industry Growth Overview: The global real estate market size will grow from USD 4466.58 billion in 2025 to USD 5871 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate of 7.1%. On a granular level, the real estate market experienced an annual growth decline of –0.09 %.
- Manpower & Employment Growth: The industry employs over 11 million workers globally, with 540K new employees added last year.
- Patents & Grants: The sector has filed over 24K patents and secured 2700+ grants. The yearly patent growth is 14.37%, with China and the USA leading in patent issuance.
- Global Footprint: Key country hubs include the USA, India, the UK, Canada, and Germany. Major city hubs such as New York City, London, Dubai, Toronto, and Mumbai lead urban innovation.
- Investment Landscape: The average funding per round is USD 46.3 million, supported by over 19K investors. More than 9000 companies have received investments across 34K funding rounds.
- Top Investors: The combined investment value by the top investors such as SoftBank Vision Fund, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and more exceeds USD 17 billion.
- Startup Ecosystem: Innovative startups include Placy (AI real estate assistant), Mayfair Coin (real estate tokenization), Enviz (immersive property visualization), fu3e (AI-powered software platform), and Market Stadium (real estate market analysis).
Methodology: How We Created This Real Estate Industry Report
This report is based on proprietary data from our AI-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, which tracks 25 million companies and 20 000 technologies and trends globally, including detailed insights on approximately 5 million startups, scaleups, and tech companies. Leveraging this extensive database, we provide actionable insights on emerging technologies and market trends.
For this report, we focused on the evolution of real estate over the past 5 years, utilizing our platform’s trend intelligence feature. Key data points analyzed include:
- Total Companies working on the trend
- News Coverage and Annual Growth
- Market Maturity and Patents
- Global Search Volume & Growth
- Funding Activity and Top Countries
- Subtrends within real estate
Our data is refreshed regularly, enabling trend comparisons for deeper insights into their relative impact and importance.
Additionally, we reviewed external resources to supplement our findings with broader market data and predictions, ensuring a reliable and comprehensive overview of the real estate market.
What Data is Used to Create This Real Estate Report?
Based on the data provided by our Discovery Platform, we observe that the real estate industry ranks among the top 5% in the following categories relative to all 20K topics in our database.
These categories provide a comprehensive overview of the industry’s key metrics and inform the short-term future direction of the industry.
- News Coverage & Publications: The real estate industry generated over 83K news publications last year. This highlights its relevance and visibility in global media.
- Funding Rounds: Our database includes 34K funding rounds, which showcase strong investment activity within the real estate sector.
- Manpower: Employing more than 11 million workers globally, the industry added over 540K new employees last year.
- Patents: The sector holds over 24K patents. It indicates significant innovation and intellectual property development.
- Grants: With over 2700 grants awarded, the industry demonstrates consistent support for research and development initiatives.
- Yearly Global Search Growth: The yearly global search growth for the real estate market stands at 1.37%.
Explore the Data-driven Real Estate Outlook for 2025
According to The Business Research Company, the global real estate market size will grow from USD 4466.58 billion in 2025 to USD 5871 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate of 7.1%.
Also, the global real estate market is projected to grow from USD 654.40 trillion in 2025 to USD 727.80 trillion by 2029, driven by a 2.69% compound annual growth rate.
Another analysis by The Business Research Company suggests that the residential real estate market size will grow from USD 10629.44 billion in 2025 to USD 12843.22 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate of 4.8%.
The Real Estate Industry Report 2025 uses data from the Discovery Platform and encapsulates the key metrics that underline the sector’s dynamic growth and innovation.
Our database includes 5700+ startups and over 150K companies globally. Despite a slight decline in the annual growth rate of -0.09%, innovation continues with over 24K patents and 2700 grants.
Credit: The Business Research Company
The industry workforce exceeds 11 million, with 540K new employees added last year. Key hubs driving activity include the USA, India, the UK, Canada, and Germany.
Further, the major city hubs such as New York City, London, Dubai, Toronto, and Mumbai highlight the global spread of real estate innovation and operations.
Moreover, the National Association of Realtors predicts 7-12% home sales growth and a 2% price rise in 2025, driven by stable 6% mortgage rates, higher inventory, and rising incomes.
A Snapshot of the Global Real Estate Industry
Although the annual growth rate is slightly negative at -0.09%, the sector remains vibrant with 5700+ startups.
Over 3800 are early-stage startups, showcasing entrepreneurial activity, and more than 4700 mergers and acquisitions indicate ongoing consolidation and strategic partnerships.
Innovation drives the industry, demonstrated by over 24K patents filed globally. With more than 2700 applicants, the sector maintains a yearly patent growth of 14.37%.
Moreover, China and the USA lead in patent issuance, with over 9200 and 8000 patents respectively.
Explore the Funding Landscape of the Real Estate Industry
The average investment per round is USD 46.3 million, indicating substantial capital flow into the real estate sector.
With over 19K investors actively participating, the industry attracts global attention. More than 34K funding rounds have been closed.
Further, over 9000 companies have secured investments, illustrating a broad distribution of funding across varied enterprises.
Further, LEED-certified buildings earn 21.4% higher rent per square foot than non-certified ones.
Who is Investing in Real Estate Solutions?
The top investors in the real estate industry have combined investment values exceeding USD 17 billion, underscoring their vital role in funding sector growth.
- SoftBank Vision Fund leads the list, investing USD 4.7 billion across 21 companies. SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle launched the USD 500 billion Stargate project to build AI data centers across the USA.
- Barclays has contributed USD 3.1 billion to 12 companies. Barclays, Funding Circle, and TPG Angelo Gordon provided USD 375 million to support UK small businesses.
- Goldman Sachs has invested USD 2.3 billion in 32 companies. Goldman Sachs Alternatives acquired a majority stake in Synthon from BC Partners.
- Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has allocated USD 1.8 billion to 7 companies. ADIA invested USD 750 million in structured debt of India’s GMR Group.
- JP Morgan has invested USD 1.7 billion across 10 companies. J.P. Morgan and Orsted partnered on a USD 680 million solar and storage financing deal in Texas and Arizona.
- Waterfall Asset Management has contributed USD 1.6 billion to 5 companies. Waterfall Asset Management and Citi provided a USD 246 million debt package to iwoca, a leading European SME lender.
- Bank of America has invested USD 1.5 billion in 9 companies. BofA became an official partner of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
- BNP Paribas has allocated USD 1.5 billion across 14 companies. BNP Paribas entered exclusive negotiations to acquire AXA Investment Managers from AXA for USD 5.56 billion.
- ING Group has invested USD 1.3 billion in 9 companies. ING committed to phasing out upstream oil and gas financing by 2040 and tripling its renewable energy financing to USD 8.18 billion annually by 2025.
Moreover, 82% of consumers prioritize sustainability, driving investments and strategies in real estate.
Top Real Estate Innovations & Trends
The real estate industry is evolving quickly, driven by trends shaping its future. Here are the top three trends and their firmographic data:
- Real Estate Management: Over 10K companies and a workforce of more than 800K focus on optimizing property operations. The addition of over 38K new employees last year reflects steady growth, with an annual trend growth rate of 5.08%.
- Smart Building: This trend, which includes more than 2300 companies and 147K+ employees, focuses on energy efficiency and advanced automation. The sector added over 8K employees last year, marking an annual growth rate of 7.10%.
- Metaverse Real Estate: A rapidly emerging area with over 1800 companies and more than 94K employees. The segment added over 8K new employees last year, with an annual growth rate of 13.23%, and is redefining virtual property transactions.
5 Top Examples from 5700+ Innovative Real Estate Startups
The five innovative startups showcased below are picked based on data including the trend they operate within and their relevance, founding year, funding status, and more. Book a demo to find promising startups, emerging trends, or industry data specific to your company’s needs and objectives.
Placy provides AI Real Estate Assistant
Cyprus-based startup Placy develops Placy Bot, an AI-powered virtual assistant for the real estate sector. It is accessible via WhatsApp and Telegram and analyzes property listings, state registries, and social media to provide information on locations, prices, and taxes.
The startup’s virtual assistant facilitates property searches, schedule viewings, and draft agreements and supports multiple languages to cater to a diverse clientele.
Further, Placy automates routine tasks and improves efficiency for property owners, buyers, and real estate professionals to streamline the property transaction process and improve user experience.
Mayfair Coin enables Real Estate Tokenization
Lithuanian startup Mayfair Coin builds a blockchain-based platform that tokenizes real estate assets for fractional ownership and investment.
It uses the Binance Smart Chain and BEP-20 standard to convert property ownership into digital tokens to enhance accessibility and transparency.
The platform incorporates smart contracts to automate transactions and employs a token burn mechanism to reinvest profits into property acquisitions. This reduces token supply and potentially increases value.
Mayfair Coin democratizes real estate investment to offer a secure and efficient way for global investors to diversify their portfolios.
Enviz provides Immersive Property Visualization
Australian startup Enviz develops a multi-device extended reality (XR) platform to showcase unbuilt properties through photorealistic, interactive virtual experiences.
The platform transforms floor plans and architectural models into immersive virtual spaces, which are accessible via headsets, tablets, browsers, and mobile devices.
It offers features such as walkable, clickable, and dollhouse views to give potential buyers a detailed understanding of their future homes.
Enviz enables real-time connections with remote buyers across devices to deliver photorealistic immersion. By improving engagement and building buyer confidence, the startup accelerates property sales and streamlines decision-making in the real estate sector.
fu3e offers AI-powered Software Platform
UK startup fu3e provides an AI-powered software platform for real estate funds, owners, developers, and consultants to manage risk, costs, and milestones in real-time.
The platform enables real estate owners to track budgets against costs, automate manual reporting tasks, and consolidate siloed systems into a single source of truth.
It also includes task automation via fu3e Co-Pilot that uploads files through project-specific email addresses, and hierarchical reporting for portfolio visibility.
Moreover, the platform simplifies reporting for executives by delivering an intuitive, configurable interface that reduces the major operational changes.
Market Stadium delivers Real Estate Market Analysis
US startup Market Stadium offers a data-driven platform that combines real estate analytics with urban intelligence to optimize market research for multifamily and single-family investors.
The platform aggregates real estate datasets to provide investors with detailed location scores, market overviews, and customizable analytics.
It enables investors to dissect USA cities at the tract level to deliver insights into housing values, growth trends, and forecasts with accuracy.
Market Stadium offers cluster and correlation analysis that enables investors to make informed decisions and streamline their investment processes.
Gain Comprehensive Insights into Real Estate Trends, Startups, or Technologies
The 2025 real estate market outlook highlights a transformative phase driven by innovation and digitalization. Trends such as smart building technologies, metaverse real estate, and advanced management systems will redefine operations and value creation.
Get in touch to explore all 5700+ startups and scaleups, as well as all industry trends impacting real estate companies.
