Branded residences have reached an inflection point. What began as a way to de-risk hotel development is fast becoming a mainstream real estate product, shaped less by novelty and more by fundamentals: location, demand, pricing and long-term asset management.
That shift is now visible in both scale and geography. The global branded residences sector is set to grow by 123 percent over the next five years, according to Savills, with total schemes forecast to reach 1,747 by 2032.
Growing up
But the more telling change is not just how much the sector is growing. It’s how it is being used. Increasingly, branded residences are no longer treated as bolt-ons to hotels but as anchors within developments and destination-led placemaking strategies, with the residential component increasingly doing work that hotels alone cannot.
Ben Godon, head of hospitality asset management at Colliers notes: “Branded residences are definitely attractive in bringing new homeowners to areas, perhaps, that they would not necessarily have considered before. People coming back multiple times a year can create economic activity a hotel alone wouldn’t necessarily deliver.”
Residential ownership brings repeat visitation, steadier local spending and a more durable base of demand for retail and F&B, particularly in emerging locations. In areas where tourism infrastructure is still maturing, that can make the difference between a development that feels transient and one that begins to function as a neighbourhood.
But Godon is clear that branded residences are not a silver bullet and only work when the fundamentals stack up.
Louis Keighley, head of Savills Global Residential Development Consultancy agrees.
“Every single region is growing. But that doesn’t mean every project works. The right brand, in the right location, designed in the right way. Remove one of those factors and risk is introduced,” he says.
Around the world in (hundreds of) schemes
Savills’ data points to a sector that is scaling rapidly, but not indiscriminately. As at the end of 2025, the number of branded residence schemes worldwide stands at 910, representing 19 per cent year-on-year growth. Based on projects already signed, a further 837 schemes are scheduled to come to market by 2032.
North America may be the birthplace of branded residences but newer markets are quickly growing in popularity. Asia Pacific has grown by 55 per cent over the past five years, driven by Vietnam, Thailand and India. The Middle East and North Africa has expanded even faster - up 187 per-cent - led by Dubai and the wider Gulf. Europe, meanwhile, continues to grow steadily, adding more than 50 new developments across city and resort locations in the past year alone.
What differs by region is not appetite, but dynamics.
In the Middle East, extraordinarily high absorption rates continue to support development. Keighley expects that momentum to hold in the near-term but questions remain over how long such growth can be sustained. In Europe, strict planning regimes, historic urban cores and limited development capacity may be a constraining factor. However, Keighley notes that projects such as the Maybourne branded residences in Paris Saint-Germain may be the key to turning a relative stream into a river.
London remains Europe’s most mature market, with 18 completed schemes and seven more in the pipeline. But Savills notes increased interest in secondary cities such as Manchester as well as in locations within two hours of major urban centres, a trend also playing out across Spain and Portugal.
The lesson, Keighley says, is consistency rather than geography. “Secondary cities can work. But the same principles apply. If one element is missing, either brand, design, location or demand, risk creeps in.”
The premium
As the pipeline expands, scrutiny around the branded residence premium is intensifying.
Buyers are no longer paying simply for association. They want to understand what they are getting in exchange for that uplift and whether it will hold over time.
Robert Thorne, CEO of Urban Network Capital Group the developer behind schemes including ELLE Residences Miami says rentability is key for many buyers.
“Buyers look at returns and how safe those returns are. Then they look at the brand. The brand is a signal of quality but it’s not the product. They’re also going to look at the operator of the property and the strength of the developer.”
These considerations are especially important, particularly as the sector expands beyond pure luxury, with growth increasingly visible in upper-upscale and upscale branded residences as well as in non-hotel brands spanning fashion, media, F&B and automotive.
For Savills, the takeaway is clear: the premium must be justified.
“You can’t just strap a premium onto a building. There has to be additional value whether that’s experience, lifestyle, services, community or income security,” Keighley says.
He adds that at the top end, buyers remain trophy-driven and relatively yield-agnostic. Further down, investment logic takes over. Buyers become more focused on annual income, resale value and capital appreciation.
“We're starting to see a shift in buyer profiles to accommodate the shift in chain scales. If less luxury driven brands are going to enter the sector, they need to make it compelling. So if McDonald for example were able to put a brand of resi scheme out yielding 20 people, people would jump on it. Suddenly it becomes more about investment than it does about profile,” Keighley says.
If value is harder to justify upfront, it is even harder to sustain over time. David Branch, principal at STONE branded residences advisory, argues that future-proofing branded residences has less to do with hard amenities and more to do with operational discipline.
“Amenities can date quickly. Success lies more in the services than the hard amenities because the amenities needed can change over a few years. You have to be nimble but you have to stay true to the brand promise,” he says.
Godon echoes that from an asset management perspective. Build quality, maintenance standards and the long-term performance of the operation all feed directly into whether a unit remains attractive five or ten years down the line and its resale ability.
“It needs to be just as compelling in ten years as it is one year after opening. It’s also about keeping the facilities fresh and reinvested over a period of time, “he says.
Catching up
As the sector matures, lender understanding is evolving in parallel.
In markets where banks were once reluctant to lend against branded residential projects, confidence is growing as track records build. Keighley notes Savills is now increasingly asked to undertake valuations of branded residence schemes for loan security.
But risk remains unevenly distributed. Political and economic stability continues to be pressure points, particularly in emerging markets. In Africa, established resort destinations such as Mauritius and the Seychelles have seen success, mirroring tourism dynamics in Asia Pacific. Elsewhere, uncertainty has weighed on buyer confidence.
That said, first movers can be catalytic. Projects such as Mama Shelter in Cape Town are helping familiarise buyers, brands and lenders with the product, often opening the door for further development.
For all the debate around branding, Savills is unmoved on one point: branded residences may be hospitality-born but they are governed by real estate fundamentals.
Location remains the single most important factor. The strongest schemes sit in the best places, with brands that amplify demand rather than attempt to manufacture it. And branded residences are slowly but surely moving past being just about prestige.