Global real estate deal activity is recovering after a period of contraction, but not through a broad market rebound. Instead, capital has been concentrated in targeted opportunities. Total global real estate deal volume climbed 11.7 percent in 2024–25, and specialty property segments saw notable growth: data centers grew 37.4 percent, and senior housing grew 71.5 percent, McKinsey’s Aditya Sanghvi, Alex Wolkomir, Ben Dimson, Tripp Norton, and Vaibhav Gujral explain. Office deal volume also rebounded by 16.5 percent; however, lower-quality segments continue to face distress amid concerns about structural obsolescence and difficulty in conversion to alternate uses.
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Global real estate deal volume showed signs of selective acceleration. Stacked bar chart showing global real estate deal volume (in $ billions) by sector from 2016 to 2025, alongside growth rates. Total deal volume rises from $904 billion in 2016 to a peak of $1,447 billion in 2021, then declines sharply to $663 billion in 2023 before partially recovering to $873 billion in 2025. Across the period, residential and office assets consistently make up the largest share of deal value.
Overall deal volume declined slightly over the long term (–0.4% CAGR from 2016–25) but rebounded strongly in 2024–25 (+11.7%), indicating a partial recovery. Growth is uneven across sectors: data centers (+37% year over year in 2025) and senior housing (+71.5%) show the fastest recent expansion, reflecting increasing investor focus on specialty asset classes. Traditional sectors such as office (+16.5%) and residential (+8.0%) also grew in 2025, though from lower bases after earlier declines. Retail and hotel segments show weaker long-term trends but modest recent recovery. The increase in total deal value in 2025 is driven more by larger deal sizes and targeted investments rather than a broad rise in transaction activity.
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Source: Haver Analytics; McKinsey Global Economics Intelligence analysis. Source: McKinsey & Company, Global Private Markets Report 2025 (Real estate); data from Real Capital Analytics. End of image description.
To read the report, see “Real estate builds on new terrain,” March 10, 2026.