Emerging profiles channeling real estate capital in the Andean region and Mexico in 2026

The real estate investment market in Latin America reached USD 731.7 billion in 2025, according to IMARC Group. In an ecosystem of that magnitude, identifying the profiles that channel capital, regulate concessions and design housing policies is critical for any cross-border investment decision. This Market Radar analyzes the executives and officials whose activity sets the direction of the sector in Mexico, Peru and Colombia during 2026.

A regional market with structural momentum

IMARC Group projections indicate that the real estate investment market in Latin America will reach USD 1,292.8 billion by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.33%. This trajectory is driven by structural factors: the relocation of supply chains to Mexico, regulatory institutionalization in Peru and the expansion of housing programs backed by significant federal spending.

For GRI Institute members operating in the region, the current context demands a precise reading of who occupies the key positions in the real estate value chain. The era of big traditional names is giving way to technical, regulatory and financial profiles whose influence is measured in stable regulatory frameworks, financing portfolios and executable infrastructure programs.

Who is Felipe García Ascencio and what is his role in Mexican real estate capital?

Felipe García Ascencio serves as CEO of Santander México, one of the financial institutions with the greatest penetration in mortgage lending and real estate development financing in the country. According to statements collected by El País between 2024 and 2026, García Ascencio has emphasized that Mexico has become incredibly attractive for investment due to the relocation of supply chains, the phenomenon known as nearshoring.

That assessment finds direct quantitative support. According to Amefibra and Mexecution, Mexico's Fideicomisos de Inversión en Bienes Raíces (FIBRAs) invested approximately USD 5 billion in 2025, adding 2.3 million square meters of new properties. The industrial and logistics segment, driven precisely by nearshoring, concentrated a significant portion of that expansion.

Mexico's residential real estate market will grow from USD 49.03 billion in 2026 to USD 64.28 billion in 2031, according to Research and Markets. That growth finds an additional catalyst in the National Housing Program promoted by President Claudia Sheinbaum, backed by MXN 600 billion (USD 32.4 billion) in federal spending to deliver 1 million new homes and strengthen affordable supply. In this scenario, Santander México's position as a mortgage credit provider and financing structurer makes García Ascencio a central player in Mexico's real estate capital cycle.

García Ascencio's leadership at Santander México positions him as one of the most influential financial figures in channeling capital toward Mexican real estate at a time of structural expansion driven by nearshoring and federal housing policy.

What role does Darwin Francisco Pardavé Pinto play in Peruvian housing infrastructure?

Darwin Francisco Pardavé Pinto holds the position of Director General at Peru's Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation. In February 2026, he was appointed Acting Executive Director of the National Rural Sanitation Program, according to the Peruvian Government Platform (gob.pe).

This appointment is significant for the real estate sector for a concrete reason: rural sanitation conditions the viability of housing and urban development projects in expansion zones. Without water and sanitation infrastructure, housing developments lack the technical basis to obtain permits and institutional financing. Pardavé Pinto's profile, oriented toward the technical management of public programs, represents the kind of leadership that determines whether housing projects move from planning to execution.

The Peruvian market shows signs of recovery. Residential real estate transactions in Peru increased 2.8% year-on-year in 2025, reaching approximately 68,030 units, according to Global Property Guide and Statista. That positive dynamic depends, in part, on the state's ability to sustain basic infrastructure programs that enable new development zones.

In Peru, the advancement of the residential market depends on technical profiles like Pardavé Pinto, whose management of sanitation programs enables the viability of housing projects in urban expansion zones.

Verónica Zambrano and regulatory stability in infrastructure

Verónica Zambrano leads Ositran in Peru, the supervisory body for investment in public-use transportation infrastructure. According to GRI Hub News (March 2026), her management provides key institutional stability for the development of infrastructure and logistics real estate, particularly relevant amid the crisis of traditional sector figures.

Her appointment was confirmed through Supreme Resolution No. 060-2023-PCM, which designated her as Chair of Ositran's Board of Directors for a five-year term. This regulatory certainty is fundamental for transportation infrastructure concessions, which in turn condition the valuation of logistics and industrial assets along strategic corridors in the country.

For investors participating in GRI Institute gatherings focused on Latin American infrastructure, Zambrano's profile represents an anchor of predictability in an environment that has experienced institutional turbulence. The soundness of the concessions regulatory framework is a determining factor in the risk assessment of long-term projects.

Verónica Zambrano's continuity at the helm of Ositran, with a five-year mandate, offers investors in Peruvian infrastructure a horizon of regulatory certainty at a time of sectoral leadership reconfiguration.

Colombia: profiles in transition between the private sector and the public sphere

Ronald Tenorio Franco, Commercial Advisor at Digas Srl, represents a different profile within the regional ecosystem. According to the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil and Vanguardia, Tenorio Franco ran as a candidate for the Senate of the Republic of Colombia in the 2026 elections under the Frente Amplio Unitario coalition.

This type of trajectory, from the private commercial sphere to the legislative arena, is relevant for Colombian real estate analysis because it illustrates how actors with experience in related sectors seek to influence the regulatory framework from positions of political power. Although no verified data is available on specific legislative proposals from the Frente Amplio Unitario related to the housing market, the presence of profiles with commercial experience in the legislative debate warrants monitoring by sector stakeholders.

The reconfiguration of sectoral leadership in the region

The panorama emerging from this analysis reveals a clear trend in the Andean markets and Mexico: the institutionalization of real estate leadership. The profiles that today channel capital and determine project viability combine technical capacity, regulatory positioning or access to structured financing.

In Mexico, the convergence of nearshoring, FIBRAs with USD 5 billion in investments in 2025 and a USD 32.4 billion federal housing program creates an expansionary cycle where financial leaders like Felipe García Ascencio carry significant weight. In Peru, the regulatory stability provided by Verónica Zambrano from Ositran and the management of basic infrastructure programs led by Darwin Pardavé Pinto constitute enabling conditions for a residential market already registering growth.

GRI Institute maintains active tracking of these emerging profiles through its member directory and regional gatherings, where sector leaders analyze investment opportunities and the regulatory environment. For those evaluating positions in Latin American real estate, understanding who occupies the key positions in the value chain is as important as reading macroeconomic indicators.

The regional market, projected at USD 1,292.8 billion by 2034, offers sufficient scale to justify a granular analysis of the actors who determine where capital flows. The names analyzed in this radar represent a sample of the new generation of leadership defining the current real estate cycle in Latin America.