Big capital increasingly shifts from offices into Europe’s student housing market

Two transactions announced almost simultaneously show how quickly the priorities of major European real-estate investors are changing. J.P. Morgan Asset Management, together with German operator i Live, has acquired a site at Lützowstrasse 74 in Berlin, where the partners plan to develop a modern student-housing complex with around 350 rooms and a targeted completion in 2029. The project forms part of J.P. Morgan’s broader European managed-living strategy and underlines how institutional capital is moving toward residential formats that can generate recurring rental income rather than relying only on traditional office assets.

At the same time, US real-estate group Greystar has continued expanding its purpose-built student accommodation portfolio in Ireland by acquiring the 265-bed Copley Court scheme in Cork. The deal takes Greystar’s Irish student-housing portfolio to more than 2,000 beds across Dublin, Galway and Cork. Together, the Berlin and Cork transactions tell a much bigger story than either deal would on its own. Student housing is no longer being treated as a niche property category. It is increasingly becoming a full institutional asset class attracting some of the world’s largest real-estate investors.

The trend should not be described as investors simply selling office buildings and immediately moving the same money into student accommodation. The change is happening at a deeper level, inside the way new capital is allocated.

Conrad Dublin heads for €130 million sale as big money returns to European hotels

One of Dublin’s best-known five-star hotels, Conrad Dublin, is being prepared for sale at a price of around €130 million. Market reports indicate that owner Archer Hotel Capital has appointed advisers to handle the disposal, making the transaction one of the most closely watched hotel deals in Ireland in 2026. The significance goes well beyond the sale of a prestigious property in the Irish capital. A transaction at this level would show that large institutional investors are once again willing to commit substantial capital to European hotel real estate despite expensive financing, high operating costs and a more selective investment environment.

The timing is particularly important because Ireland’s hotel investment market has already recovered strongly from the disruption of the pandemic years. Transaction volumes rose sharply in 2025, and Dublin continues to benefit from high occupancy, strong room rates, international tourism and corporate demand. Conrad Dublin therefore arrives on the market at a moment when investors are again treating premium hotels as serious institutional assets rather than as highly cyclical properties to be approached with caution. If the hotel attracts bids close to the expected €130 million level, it will strengthen the argument that major capital has returned to the upper end of Europe’s hospitality property market.

Conrad Dublin is an asset that institutional investors can understand relatively easily.

Poland emerges as one of Europe’s fastest-growing real estate investment markets

Poland has become one of the fastest-growing real estate investment markets in Europe during the first half of 2026. According to preliminary Savills data, investment volumes in Polish property increased by roughly 95% compared with the same period in 2025, effectively doubling in twelve months. Later estimates from CBRE and Avison Young use slightly different methodologies and suggest growth closer to 77–78%, but the broader picture remains the same: around €3 billion of investment capital moved through the Polish property market between January and June, making the period one of the strongest first halves of a year in the country over the past decade.

Poland’s rise is taking place alongside a broader transformation of the European property market. Investors are increasingly prioritising assets capable of generating stable and predictable rental income rather than relying mainly on future price appreciation. Build-to-rent residential projects, student accommodation, senior living, care homes and other so-called living-sector assets are becoming established institutional investment categories. According to Savills, these types of properties already account for close to 30% of European real estate investment turnover, while the largest transaction in Poland during the first half of 2026 took place in the professionally managed rental housing sector.

The pace of Poland’s recovery stands out even against the broader improvement seen across European property markets.