Economy
Credit, jobs and business confidence shape demand for property before a project is marketed.
Research on markets and real estate
Country research for property markets.
Country hubs first. Real estate, investment, startup ecosystems, GRIP MOVE and the library sit beside them.
The GRIP perspective
A building sits inside a larger market.
It is attached to an economy, a legal system, a labour market and a way of living. GRIP starts there.
Employment, the commute and the title matter more than the kitchen.
Infrastructure
Ports, rail, power and digital capacity reprice streets over a decade.
Migration
Who is arriving, leaving or staying changes demand.
Tourism
Visitor economies support some markets and overheat others. The difference matters.
Regulation
Tenure, tax, foreign-ownership rules and planning are part of the asset.
Lifestyle
Schools, safety, climate and daily ease decide whether a place is holdable.
Business activity
Where firms cluster, space, housing and services tend to follow.
Demographics
Age, household size and urbanisation shape what gets built and who can buy it.
Capital flows
Domestic savings, foreign capital and currency belong in the same picture.
Country research
Country research hubs
The published country hubs. Cities and topics open from each one.
Southeast AsiaKuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang
Malaysia
A bilingual commercial hub with a mixed urban fabric and a long history of regional capital passing through.
Southeast AsiaBangkok, then the coasts
Thailand
A working capital, and coastal cities with their own calendars.
Southeast AsiaMetro Manila and regional centres
Philippines
A young population, with English widely used at work, across an archipelago. Urban demand sits in a few cities. Distance is the constraint everywhere else.
Southeast AsiaCity-state
Singapore
A clear, expensive reference market. Limited land, and prices that show it.
South AsiaMumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune
India
A continental economy read city by city: services, factories, a consumer market, and a property rule that changes with the state.
South AsiaColombo and southern coasts
Sri Lanka
An Indian Ocean island: Colombo and the south coast are different markets, and both sit closer to the state’s finances than the ASEAN cities do.
Europe & EurasiaTbilisi and Batumi
Georgia
A compact capital on a historic crossing, with relatively open property access and a smaller, less liquid market.
Europe & EurasiaLondon, then the other cities
United Kingdom
A deep, documented market, with London attached and with tax and planning rules that are written down.
Middle EastCairo, the new cities, Alexandria, the Red Sea
Egypt
A large domestic economy on the Nile, with a canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Middle EastDubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah
United Arab Emirates
International capital, a large expatriate population, and two cities that should not be treated as one product.
Middle EastMuscat and Salalah
Oman
A small sultanate. Foreign ownership is a licensed exception, not a national freehold.
Real estate research
Property can play more than one role.
How a holding is read: use, tenure, and the market it sits in.
Income
Some assets are held for rent. That role depends on occupancy, tenure, management and local law.
Capital preservation
Long-duration property can play a capital-preservation role when location, condition and liquidity support it.
Diversification
A second country, currency or city changes the exposure only when the drivers differ.
Lifestyle
A home, a base, or a place to work from. Use has a value of its own. The brief names which one.
Legacy
Property is often held across generations. Who inherits, and on what title, is part of the holding.
Also in the research
Investment, ecosystems, GRIP MOVE and the United States.
The other main destinations. City detail stays on the country hubs.
Investment
Time, currency, liquidity and the cost of holding across a border.
Startup ecosystems
Where firms form, hire and take space, and what that does to housing.
GRIP MOVE
Residency, work, ownership and the household, set out country by country.
United States
Property and startup places, written city by city and state by state.
GRIP Library
Research from the GRIP Library.
Longer notes on property, markets, investment and startups. Spoken versions are in Audio.
Markets and cities
Zimbabwe: The Country Beyond the Balance Sheet
A wide-angle study of Zimbabwe’s economy, trade, culture, infrastructure, regional connections, property context and everyday life.
GRIP Special EditionZimbabwe25 October 202611 min read
Markets and cities
Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi NCR: three economic machines
Finance and a port, a technology labour market, and a capital region spread across three states. One country, three property markets.
Research note25 October 20262 min read
Global economy and macro
The Indian diaspora as a global economic network
37.3 million overseas Indians in January 2026, split between citizens abroad and persons of Indian origin. Transfers are one line in a wider set of ties.
Research note25 October 20262 min read
Global economy and macro
India’s consumer economy beyond the metros
Formal retail has followed households into cities a brochure still treats as secondary. The shop, the app and the warehouse are separate buildings.
Research note25 October 20262 min read
Framework
A consistent framework for comparing markets.
Designed for structured comparison across very different markets.
01
Access and operations
Visas, flights, language, and whether a buyer can find a lawyer, a bank and a manager.
02
Value
Price against local incomes, the cost of building again, and the cities a buyer would actually compare.
03
Jobs and public money
Where employment, private investment and the public finances are heading.
04
Infrastructure
Transport, power, water, schools, hospitals and the network a weekday actually uses.
05
The letting market
Whether someone will occupy the building, and how the law treats landlords and tenants.
06
Daily life
Climate, safety, culture, green space and healthcare, judged on an ordinary week.
07
Title, tax and rules
How clear the title is, who may buy, how property is taxed, and whether institutions do what the statute says.
08
What may still matter
Location, demography, openness and governance: the traits that can outlast a single cycle.
Where next
Continue with a market, or with a question.
A country hub, a city brief, or a note in the library.