Encouraging News with the announcement of a Covid vaccine! While this news sends us towards our way to recovery, I believe it will continue to affect the real estate psyche in several ways.
Office market holds strong
First, the move to virtual offices and shared office arrangements will continue. Traditional office should hold strong, but new ventures will focus on downsizing office requirements. The vaccine, actually, will help in this regard. As we start to develop immunity, workers will be more willing to share space. More office tenants will consider working from home for part of the week and “coming into the office” for other necessary in-person functions. This will apply pressure to landlords as they try to decide what to do with the excess space, and the options for the industrially minded landlord are limitless. We may even see some office space repurposed into a residential use if zoning and permitting within that local jurisdiction is flexible.
Where is retail going?
Retail will plod along, still trying to figure out how to combat Amazon, Wayfare, Walmart and a host of other online retailers. As with the most recent trends, retailers with “experiential shops” will do well. I mean, you can’t get a haircut, manicure or massage on Amazon can you? Meaning, you can walk around and enjoy the social aspect of shopping. Retailers and restaurants will continue to see a boom in business, especially those situated in social gathering areas. For all real estate, “social” will become even more important, as we bounce back.
Restaurants coming back
Speaking of restaurants, this segment was hit hardest. It will come back, and the large inventory of former restaurant spaces will encourage new ventures to take their place in order to serve a hungry public anxious to break the cycle we’ve all experienced since at least March. Again, we are only limited by the creative nature of entrepreneurs.
Residential Real Estate
The housing market will remain strong, if only because of a lack of available inventory. Add the pressure of a part of the populace who are fleeing big cities combined with their ability to ‘work from home’ and there will be abundant opportunities for builders and developers in areas once thought of as inconceivable in terms of livability. This, in turn, will create a need for more commercial real estate such as grocery stores, retail centers, fueling stations, etc…and the cycle continues.
The vaccine, or vaccine’s, have given us hope and thankfully that light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter. If you’re interested in learning more about our Commercial and/or Residential Real Estate services, let’s connect!