Wellness real estate set to hit $1.1 trillion by 2029, says Global Wellness Institute

The market is forecast to double in the next five years, with the Institute predicting 15.2 per cent annual growth for the sector

Global

By Wendy Golledge

10 July 2025

globalwellnessinstitute.org

A new Global Wellness Institute (GWI) report titled Build Well to Live Well: The Future has revealed the wellness real estate market reached $584 billion (£430bn/€499bn) in 2024. It is predicted to double to $1.1 trillion by 2029.

Real estate is now the biggest growth sector in $6.3 trillion wellness economy, growing at an impressive 15.2 per cent annually.

In the first update to the GWI’s wellness real estate research since 2018, the 160-page study reveals the sector has more than doubled in size and surged from $225 billion since 2019.

“Wellness real estate is no longer niche; it’s the foundation for how we live well and the most important sector in the global wellness economy. There is no going back to ignoring wellness; it is our charge to make wellness real estate as compelling, understandable, and actionable as possible.”

Katherine Johnston

Senior researcher, GWI

The fastest-growing regions

Wellness real estate has outpaced general construction growth by more than three times, rising to 19.5 per cent versus 5.5 per cent annually.

The GWI estimates that wellness real estate now represents 3.3 per cent of global annual construction output.

Europe posted one of the fastest growth rates globally at 22.4 per cent, just behind Latin America-Caribbean at 24 per cent and Middle East-North Africa at 22.6 per cent.

Together with North America and Asia-Pacific, these regions account for 99 per cent of the global market.

Big market shifts redefining wellness real estate

Wellness beyond hotels and homes

Once centred on residential and hospitality, wellness is now reshaping offices, healthcare facilities, senior living, student housing and even industrial developments.

From fitness to full-spectrum wellbeing

Today’s projects go far beyond the physical, increasingly embracing a much more holistic concept of wellness, tackling mental, social and civic wellbeing.

The rise of affordable wellness

Wellness is no longer the preserve of the wealthy. Developers are embracing co-living, build-to-rent and public housing models to deliver healthier living and move the residential market beyond luxury to something more affordable.

Wellness at scale

No longer confined to boutique builds, wellness is being woven into large-scale, master planned communities, with major developers applying a wellness lens across their entire portfolio.

Building for people and planet

Green certification standards have matured to reflect a dual focus on environmental sustainability and human health, pushing developers to design spaces that truly support both.

Top national markets

The United States dominates the sector at $223 billion, followed by China at $86 billion and the UK at $38.5 billion.

The UK leads in national growth at 29 per cent, with the Netherlands, Singapore, France and Italy not far behind.

Graph showing the six Dimensions of Wellness Real Estate

The opportunities that lie ahead

The report identifies a dozen areas where wellness real estate can break new ground, including:

Climate-adaptive homes, with a resilient designs and energy independence to help combat the relentless rise of extreme weather conditions.
Healthy homes for the non-rich will create affordable healthy homes with more basic wellness feature.
Co-living model designed for connection and wellness, not just convenience, will boom, moving beyond young demographics and remote workers to new groups.
Neuroscience-led design will see the creation of more multi-sensory spaces to calm and engage, with soundscapes, prosocial and biophilic design, digital and public art and immersive interactive spaces that invite deep engagement.
Urban wellness hubs will pop up as cities revitalise their urban core with green, vibrant city spaces that mix work, life and culture. Expert more massive investments in large-scale urban wellness projects that encompass offices, housing, retail, recreation, arts and tourism.

Table with data on The Costs of Our Unwell Built Environment — The costs of our unwell built environment

Other major opportunities include earth-friendly and sustainable living, innovations to improve wasteful construction process and infusing wellness into tourism infrastructure.

It’s predicted in the report that healthcare clusters will expand to become healthy communities and health spans will continue to improve, as people thrive into older age.

Funded by Fountain Life and Blue Legacy Ventures, Build Well to Live Well: The Future is available to download for free here.

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