What is the real estate industry talking about in spring 2026?

We participated in the Nordic Real Estate Forum in Tallinn, which focused on the Baltic real estate investment market, as well as the annual MIPIM property and real estate conference in Cannes.

The events provide interesting windows into the market and excellent opportunities to share ideas and gauge the mood among European colleagues in the industry.

Sentiments from Tallinn and Cannes

From a real estate investor’s perspective, the Baltics are a small market that is currently seeing little activity from Nordic investors. However, positive movement is taking place, for example, in Tallinn among local investors and real estate developers, where new residential, office, and hotel projects have been launched.

The attention of Nordic real estate investors who have operated in the Baltics has been more focused on Poland, where the growth prospects and yield forecasts look appealing. In the capital, Warsaw, for instance, the demand for office space is high, creating a firm landlord’s market. As a result of this imbalance, rents have risen considerably in recent years.

In Finland, the positive sentiment has been driven primarily by logistics and big box transactions involving international buyers, as well as sales of large residential portfolios that have boosted the overall transaction volume. In both the Baltics and Finland, conversion projects are being planned in which old office spaces, in particular, are being converted into apartments or hotels. In the early spring, the general impression was that bank financing was readily available for all types of commercial properties, though tenants’ ability to pay continues to be carefully evaluated. At that time, the events in the Middle East had not yet escalated, and the prices of interest rate hedges did not significantly reflect the prospect of a prolonged conflict. While preparing for rising costs was a topic of discussion in early March, the mood has grown more cautious over the past month as oil prices and interest rates continue to climb.

A positive vibe, but realism is needed

It is easy to get caught up in a bubble at events, amidst the lively buzz of presentations, lunch meetings, coffee discussions, and rampant speculation. Generally, it is good to remember that in recent years, the total returns on real estate have, for the most part, lagged significantly behind equity and fixed-income investments. Grasping the overall picture and hearing perspectives from outside the industry is essential.

At both events, the atmosphere was moderately positive. Real estate investors appear to have grown accustomed to global crises, as the continuing uncertainty has not dampened hopes for a real estate market recovery. Topics are discussed with refreshing authenticity and depth when people get to meet face-to-face with old and new acquaintances in a facilitated yet relaxed setting.