A year ago, few would have predicted that we would still be in the midst of a global pandemic. The pandemic has impacted every industry; some for the better, and some for the worst. From firm-wide work from home policies, to nationwide real estate supply shortages and rising construction costs, very few have been left unaffected.
Key observations that are coming to light as we exit the pandemic:
- The much-anticipated blood-bath, which many presumed would be the result of the pandemic for CRE, has turned out to be limited to only a few very specific product types and circumstances.
- While some trends and outcomes from the pandemic have been solidified (think: drive-thru dominance & e-commerce evolution), there still exists significant uncertainty as to the future of many categories and sub-categories.
- While the world is now different, one item has remained unchanged; Investor demand for CRE continues to outpace supply.
Our takeaways here:
- Change is inevitable; the prevailing trends as we move forward are merely those that were already happening.
- So don’t let the change create fear; embrace it and run with it!
- Like the continued demand for CRE, remember that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
- There have been a lot of changes, but through it all we are still social, emotional human beings, and less is actually changing than the fear that our minds have derived.