Frankfurt School Real Estate Day

The 2nd Frankfurt School Real Estate Day, held under the guiding theme “Finance & Investment” on 11 September 2025, brought together around 400 experts from business, academia and politics, as well as students, at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. With only its second edition, the conference has already established itself as the leading interdisciplinary platform for dialogue on the key future issues shaping the real estate and finance industries in the German-speaking world.

Hosted by the Frankfurt School Real Estate Institute (FS REI), the conference addressed pressing market challenges and structural developments through a diverse, practice-oriented program. Distinguished speakers from the German and European real estate and finance sectors explored investment, finance and transaction trends from both European and global perspectives. Discussions centered on how new capital market requirements, rising regulation, and a volatile economic environment are reshaping financing and investment strategies.

The event was moderated by Simone Ulmer, Managing Director at Feldhoff & Cie. Cluster sessions were chaired by, among others, Professor Dr.-Ing. Alexander von Erdély, Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, FRICS, and Spokesperson of the Executive Board at the Federal Real Estate Agency, Professor Dr. Thomas Beyerle, Biberach University of Applied Sciences and Professor Dr. Alexander Goepfert, honorary professor at Frankfurt School and Chair of the FS REI Advisory Board.

“The real estate and finance industries are at a turning point. Our goal with the Real Estate Day is to create a platform that offers orientation, dialogue and forward-looking perspectives – grounded in expertise, practice and international exchange,” explains Professor Dr. Kerstin Hennig, Head of Frankfurt School Real Estate Institute.

Curth-C. Flatow, Managing Partner of FAP Group, adds: “The Frankfurt School Real Estate Day delivers unique value by bringing investors, financiers, real estate professionals and students together. It provides direction, new perspectives and tangible opportunities for developing successful strategies for the future.”

PropTech Germany Award: Connecting innovation and finance

The PropTech Germany Award 2025 was presented as part of the Frankfurt School Real Estate Day. The Top 33 PropTechs had been nominated in May during the REAL Pitches at the Real Estate Arena in Hanover – Europe’s largest innovation and matchmaking event for the construction and real estate industries. The award, organized by blackprint – the innovation hub driving digitalization, transformation and sustainability in the built environment since 2017 – honors excellence across eleven categories covering the full real estate lifecycle. 

This year’s overall winner, LichtWART GmbH, impressed the jury with its IoT platform for smart lighting and energy management, which reduces operating costs and CO₂ emissions across all categories.

New Master in Real Estate launched

Through its research, teaching and talent development, the Frankfurt School Real Estate Institute continues to strengthen the visibility and macroeconomic importance of the real estate sector.

Just days before the event, Frankfurt School launched its new Master in Real Estate – an internationally oriented degree program covering the full spectrum of real estate management, from financing, transactions and investment structuring to project development, digitalization, sustainability, AI and ethics. Two extensive, practice-driven case studies mark the program’s culmination, ensuring graduates are equipped to shape the future of the industry with both vision and rigour.