Market Trends of Commercial Real Estate Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Commercial Real Estate Market according to our research experts:
Office Markets to Witness Increased Growth
The office market was strongly hit by the pandemic globally. Despite the vast disruption, now the market is in the recovery phase. Furthermore, increasing investments in the sector are boosting the economic recovery in the market.
In 2021, office occupancy experienced robust growth of more than 80% in almost 390 metro cities worldwide. Moreover, 30 million sq ft (MSF) of office space was absorbed since the third quarter of 2021. Meanwhile, the rental growth of the sector is in the slow recovery phase, and EMEA experienced significant growth in rental growth. In addition, most of the office space is absorbed by class-A offices with more than 61%, followed by class-B and class-C offices with 32% and 7%, respectively.
Furthermore, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is leading in the office market due to population growth, GDP growth, middle-class consumers, and the working-age population leveraging office demand. Also, the APAC region contributes more than 50% of office construction in the global market.
The Retail Sector is Likely to Witness a Significant Growth
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic disruption, the retail real estate sector saw significant growth, leveraged by the digitization of work, the transformation of physical retail, and the shift towards environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. Moreover, the retail sector faced many challenges from the e-commerce sector and changing customer behavior during the pandemic.
Despite these challenges, the sector stood resilient, as e-commerce sales during the pandemic accounted for only 14% of overall retail sales. Moreover, developers are focusing on different strategies to meet consumer demand and adapt to the changing retail environment. Such as remodeling shopping centers for multiple purposes, customizing tenant mix, and developing new lease models to attract the latest business models. In addition, to meet consumer demand, some retailers are expanding their business through omnichannel strategies, such as click-and-collect, curbside pickup, and ship-from-store, by adopting new technologies.
Furthermore, retail sales increased in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by the US and Europe. Also, retail sales experienced growth in different segments such as in-store retails, grocery stores, apparel, departmental stores, restaurants, and bars.
