EXPO REAL 2026: Modest growth meets harsh reality

The real estate market is showing initial signs of recovery. Although investors are once again evaluating more projects, demanding financing conditions, high construction costs, and regulatory hurdles continue to hinder the implementation of many projects. Against this backdrop, EXPO REAL, which took place in Munich from October 5 to 7, 2026, drew 1,777 exhibitors from 37 countries (2025: 1,742 exhibitors from 34 countries) and more than 42,000 participants from 74 countries (2025: around 42,000 participants from 70 countries). That put the number of participants slightly above the previous year’s level. Spread over 76,000 square meters in seven halls, the focus was on residential construction, financing, and investable infrastructure, with the latter having its own separate focus for the first time.

Stefan Rummel, CEO of Messe München: “In a challenging market environment, we see an ambivalent mood. While many projects in Germany are under considerable pressure, and structural challenges remain unresolved, there are encouraging signs from international markets and partners for 2027. Our mission is to keep on developing EXPO REAL. With the debut of the ‘Investable Infrastructure’ area, we once again achieved that. That demonstrates the future viability of Europe’s largest trade fair for real estate, investment, and infrastructure.”

Separate focus on investable infrastructure for the first time at EXPO REAL

With InfrastructureNow, EXPO REAL addressed the growing connection between real estate and infrastructure. The new area added energy, digital and social infrastructure, and defense to the trade fair scope. That brought the overlaps between both investment areas and their significance for real estate locations into sharper focus. This strategic expansion of EXPO REAL met with an overwhelmingly positive response from exhibitors and visitors, as Alexander Heinzmann, CEO of BPD Immobilienentwicklung, explains: “From our perspective, it’s necessary to consistently consider real estate and infrastructure together. Particularly in the case of larger urban and neighborhood developments, housing, mobility, energy supply, green and open spaces, and social infrastructure must be planned together from the outset. Neighborhoods that function over the long term and meet the actual needs of the local community can only be created when these elements are coordinated.”

Michael Henn, Global Head of Infrastructure Investments at Commerz Real Investmentgesellschaft mbH, emphasizes: “With InfrastructureNow, EXPO REAL has provided the perfect platform for this transformation. Infrastructure is evolving from a standalone asset class into an integral part of modern real estate asset strategies. Today, the value of an asset no longer lies solely in the building itself, but increasingly in the infrastructure behind it—from energy supply and networks to data and digital infrastructure. The lines between real estate and infrastructure are becoming increasingly blurred. It is precisely this development that makes EXPO REAL more relevant today than ever before.”

Oguz Kusdil, Managing Director and Founder at commonreal, explains how companies, in turn, are leveraging this new focus for their positioning: “Our first time participating in EXPO REAL as an exhibitor was a special experience and an important step in our corporate strategy. Especially in the current challenging economic environment, the trade fair is a key component for showcasing our position in the area of social infrastructure, strengthening existing partnerships, and establishing new contacts with investors, banks, operators, and project partners.”

Residential construction in dialogue between business and politics

EXPO REAL 2026 built on the positive response to the “Flexible Housing – Opportunities Next Door” area introduced last year with the topic of housing. The focus was on the issue of how more affordable housing can be created in Germany despite high construction and financing costs, and lengthy planning and approval processes. In addition to new construction, it was about adding levels, repurposing, serial and modular construction, and more efficient use of space. The discussions highlighted how closely political frameworks, investment decisions, and project implementation are linked, and how important dialogue is between business and politics.

During her visit, Verena Hubertz, Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Building, stressed: “EXPO REAL is a marketplace where all the various trades come together. And we need that more urgently than ever, because there are no easy solutions. And that’s why, for me, EXPO REAL is a place where people come together who want to make a difference, and perhaps also go home with different answers than the ones they came with.”

Prof. Alexander von Erdély, spokesperson for the Executive Board of the Federal Agency for Real Estate Affairs, also emphasizes that these tasks require joint action by politics and business: “EXPO REAL 2026 has made one thing clear to me: The sought-after new departure in the real estate and construction industry presents us with challenges of considerable magnitude that we, as the public and private sector, can only solve together. Serial and modular construction is the answer to the new speed and scalability that we need. For me, EXPO REAL is the place where ideas turn into conversations, and conversations turn into real solutions.”

EXPO REAL as a platform for international investment

At the same time, access to capital was a key topic of discussion. Jace Tyrell, Chief Executive of Opportunity London, highlights the business significance of the contacts made at the trade fair: “EXPO REAL continues to be an important platform for London, particularly in today’s evolving capital attraction market where deeper relationships and direct conversations matter more than ever—and we have already seen a relationship developed through EXPO REAL translate into deals for London.”

Transform & Beyond: focus on solutions

The implementation of concrete projects also shaped the Transform & Beyond area, where the focus was once again on the transformation of the real estate industry. Companies and startups presented solutions for decarbonization, digitalization, artificial intelligence, and energy supply. The applications illustrated how technological innovations are increasingly finding their way into the planning, construction, and operation of real estate properties.

The discussion about these applications was also about finding suitable partners for tasks. Matthias Zühlke, co-founder and CEO of syte, describes how much the active search for solutions shapes the discussions: “For us, EXPO REAL is the event of the year. As a growing scale-up in the PropTech scene, we meet exactly those people here in just a few days with whom we want to drive the industry forward: project developers, banks, and investors. In the current environment, we can see very clearly that the conversations have changed. People are no longer just seeking information, but actively looking for solutions.”

Dr. Ulrich von Creytz, CIO of Real Estate at DWS, sums up what makes these three days at the trade fair so special: “For me, the days at EXPO REAL are the best days of the year—at least professionally.

The next EXPO REAL will be held in Munich from October 4 to 6, 2027.