Wellness real estate market to double in size by 2028

The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has released its latest report detailing the size and growth of the wellness real estate market.

Announced at the third-annual Wellness Real Estate & Communities Symposium in Manhattan, the report states that the sector is valued at £344 billion ($438 billion) in 2023.

The very buoyant market has seen an increase of 18% annually since 2019. The future also looks very bright, with the report predicting the market to more than double in size to £718 billion ($913 billion) by 2028

Richard Gere, actor, advocate and humanitarian spoke at the event held at JP Morgan Chase headquarters.

Gere has been involved in a property development called Xala on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Xala is a development that aims to create a replicable model of regenerative development that restores the environment with a focus on community.

The GWI defines the wellness real estate sector as homes and buildings that are proactively designed and built to support the holistic health of their residents.

The report finds that wellness real estate has been by far the fastest-growing market in the 11-sector wellness economy in recent years.

UK is one of the top three international markets

The GWI report includes regional and country data, finding that the US (at £142 billion/$181 billion), China (at £57 billion/$73 billion), and the UK (at £22 billion ($29 billion) remain the three biggest international markets.

The pandemic has been identified as a key driver of this sector, as it accelerated the awareness of consumers and the building industry about the critical role that external environments play in physical and mental health.

Growth leader in wellness

Wellness real estate has been a growth leader in the wellness industry since the GWI started measuring it in 2017.

During the pandemic year (2019-2020), it was one of the few wellness sectors that continued to grow rapidly (21.6% growth), even as overall construction output and global GDP shrank (-0.8% and -2.6%, respectively).

The market is heavily concentrated in North America (44% of total), Asia-Pacific, and Europe, which together account for 99% of the global sector.

Sign up here to receive our weekly news delivered direct to your inbox