Real estate is a key element of the U.S. economy. Residential real estate provides housing for individuals and families and is a major source of wealth and savings for Americans. Commercial real estate creates spaces for retail, offices, manufacturing, and apartment buildings as well as creating jobs to sell, build, and maintain all these structures.
Predicting the Future
Predicting the future, including real estate future prognosticating, can be challenging. As Danish writer Robert Storm Peterson humorously said, “Predicting is very difficult, especially about the future.” Economic upheavals especially cloud some aspects of future envisioning. Yet, there are key trends that are readily apparent.
What’s the Future of Commercial Real Estate?
Historically, location, cost and availability monopolized discussions about real estate. Today, however, real estate future trends are broader and more complex. Here are some important trends to consider:
- Dramatically stronger influence of technology. Smart buildings appear to become the norm over the next five to ten years. That includes enabling the internet of things (IoT) applications to enhance user experiences. It also includes the role of environmental and security enhancements to improve tenant experiences.
- Industrial spaces are changing. With artificial intelligence, machine learning and accelerating automation, industrial spaces are seeing size increases and expansion of functional capabilities. That includes the movement of goods and more efficient sorting and picking.
- Life sciences industry expansion. To support the growing life sciences industry, demand will grow for specialized spaces
- Growth of medical retail spaces. Medical service providers have been expanding rapidly into retail spaces including malls, shopping centers and urban storefronts. This trend is driven by a need to create more convenient and accessible facilities for consumers and patients.
- The rise of coworking. As coworking has become more popular, tenant spaces are changing configurations. That leads to a decline in traditional small office spaces and a concurrent increase in flexible working spaces.
- Multifamily investors are shifting to secondary markets. The higher cost of living in primary markets is driving some migration of individuals and corporations into secondary markets where quality employment opportunities are abundant.
- Increasing demand for cold storage spaces. Growth in food and beverage e-commerce is increasing the demand for large storage and distribution hubs as faster and more direct delivery continue to influence consumers.
- Office and multifamily development are increasingly interconnected. Having office spaces nearby workforce housing is a key trend.
- Ecommerce and faster deliveries. Ecommerce providers with their attendant provision of faster deliveries call for distribution spaces closer to residential market areas.
- Baby boomers are increasing the demand for multifamily units. Seniors appear to prefer renting in urban areas as they enter retirement. And they have more rent-available discretionary income as they have had more time to build wealth.
Overall, it can be observed that consumer and tenant expectations are changing in an evolving commercial marketplace. Real estate future trends are influenced by changing workforce demands, consumer expectations and movement across many industrial and commercial sectors. Yet the future continues to appear bright for commercial real estate.
Seek Expert Real Estate Services to Find Your Perfect Location
Every business needs a great facility. Caldwell Commercial Real Estate Services is your trusted partner for commercial real estate in Charleston, SC. Our commercial realtors and property managers have a combined 80 years of experience so you can rest easy knowing that your commercial real estate needs will be met with results and superior satisfaction.
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