Day Three Panel Recap: Global CRE Outlook - Emerging Trends and Investment Opportunities

What happens when AI, advanced manufacturing, demographic shifts, and global capital collide with commercial real estate? New markets emerge. Demand shifts, and opportunity moves with it. 

During the Global Commercial Real Estate Outlook, industry leaders Jack Huang, CCIM, Director & CEO, ERA Taiwan Master Franchise, Inc, Winstin Shih, CCIM, CRE, FRICS, Director, CBRE (Taiwan) Valuation & Advisory Services, Keiichi Kojima, CCIM, President & CEO, K’s Signature Co., Ltd., and moderator Michelle Leung, CCIM, Head of Commercial, Smart Sold Realty, took attendees beyond U.S. borders for an inside look at Taiwan and Japan, two markets where major economic and demographic forces are creating very different CRE opportunities. 

Taiwan: Follow the Semiconductor Economy 

Taiwan’s position at the center of global semiconductor manufacturing is having an impact far beyond technology. 

The panel explored how the expanding semiconductor ecosystem is driving demand for industrial land, advanced manufacturing facilities, logistics, worker housing, and office space. AI is adding even more momentum, helping fuel economic growth and creating new considerations for investors watching the region. The opportunity may extend beyond the current boom. Taiwan’s aging population could also create future demand for senior housing and healthcare-related real estate, adding another layer to the market’s long-term story. 

Japan: Demographics Don't Tell the Whole Story 

Japan offered a different lesson: a declining national population doesn't necessarily mean declining CRE demand. The demand continues to concentrate in major cities, supported by urban migration, inbound tourism, global investment, and large transit-linked redevelopment projects. 

The panel identified opportunities across prime offices, hotels, urban retail, processing facilities and regional growth nodes, demonstrating why investors need to look deeper than national-level demographic trends when evaluating a market. 

Think Global. Know Local. 

Perhaps the most valuable takeaway for CRE professionals looking across borders was also one of the simplest: Local expertise matters. Political stability, government support, sustainability, supply-chain dynamics, and market-specific conditions can all change the investment equation. The panel emphasized the importance of strong local relationships and market knowledge when evaluating opportunities that may look very different from the outside. 

For CCIMs, that creates an opportunity to do what the network does best, connect expertise across markets, understand the forces driving demand, and turn global intelligence into smarter investment decisions, because the next CRE opportunity may not be in the market you already know.