The participant numbers broke down into around 20,000 trade visitors (2022: 19,434) and 20,312 company representatives (2022: 20,498). A total of 1,856 exhibitors from 36 countries were recorded this year, slightly down on the 1,887 from 33 countries in 2022.

Expo’s organisers said the fair proved its significance as a platform for discussing industry challenges, solutions and opportunities – particularly in the current challenging climate.  

‘The real estate industry finds itself facing one of the toughest times it has seen in a long time. Increasing interest rates, stagnating construction projects, inflation - the problems are many. These are precisely the reasons why the participants spent three days here in Munich exchanging ideas and talking,’ said Stefan Rummel, CEO of Messe München.

Prof. Dr. Tobias Just, managing director and scientific director at IREBS Immobilienakademie GmbH, tempered the sombre picture painted by some delegates. ‘A cocktail of rising interest rates, high construction costs and political back-and-forth abruptly brought to an end a long upswing in the industry. And yet the image of the “perfect storm” is wrong, as user demand is intact in many segments, construction and land costs will ease again, and legislators are backpedalling at least a little.’

He added: ‘It remains uncertain if this will be enough for a recovery as early as 2024, but it's not all bad news, and a working fair like Expo Real can be a good indicator of that as well.’

Sascha Klaus, CEO at Berlin Hyp, said this year’s Expo Real reflected the current challenges facing the industry. ‘It has once again been shown how important exchange and networking is, especially in difficult times. After all, that's the only way we can work together to find solutions and seize opportunities.’

The next Expo Real will take place from 7-9 October, 2024.