AZRE | AZBigMedia
The coronavirus outbreak will accelerate commercial real estate trends that had been forming and cause dramatic changes in the industry faster than had been anticipated. The crisis will result in some short-term contractions in the industry, but will lead to a long-term expansion for commercial real estate generally, particularly in the industrial and warehouse sector.
During a special webinar last week Dr. Timothy Savage of New York University, and a research economist for NAIOP, updated his outlook on demand for industrial, office and retail commercial real estate in light the coronavirus.
“CRE was faced with technological disruption before this crisis,” Savage said. “This crisis is more of a natural disaster than a financial crisis; the significance of which is that on the other side of it, the fundamentals will be the same, they have just been moved further along the continuum.”
These trends, Savage said, affect all sectors:
• Industrial: Prior to the crisis, the NAIOP Research Foundation had revised its projections for industrial demand upward in a report entitled, The NAIOP Industrial Space Demand Forecast. It had forecast decreased demand into mid-2021 due to a lagging supply of available space and economic uncertainty but a fairly quick rebound to robust levels similar to those seen in early 2019.
