Key real estate trends likely to prevail in 2021-Business2Business

2020 has been a rather tumultuous year, which has transformed the way we interact with the world. Like many other industries, real estate, which goes far beyond brick and mortar buildings and is a catalyst for our strength and well-being, is likely to perform differently than we have seen in the past.

The industry has experienced a roller coaster ride in 2020 and the winds of change have already been seen at both the consumer and developer interface. Here's a look at the top real estate trends likely to prevail in 2021:

Buy a home for self-consumption

A millennial mindset shift in recent years has begun to favor home rentals, thus challenging the established Indian mindset of "settling in" solely through home purchases. "The pandemic has sparked a resurgence of that desire to own a home, especially as the need to stay close to the office has decreased for many. There is a growing trend to move away from populated and polluted central areas to more affordable suburban locations. Affordable cities in India will have a preference for developments. Planned flats or apartment construction. On the other hand, in cities like Mumbai, we will see a trend towards gated communities versus individual building developments due to the multiple advantages that gated communities tend to offer, ”says Divya Seth Muggu, Director of Valuation Services at Colliers International India.

Builder confidence to drive sales

Corporate developers with strong financial support and brand equity will have a larger market share. Tired and vulnerable gamers are already beginning to liquidate their assets, whether through development management agreements or commercial acquisitions. This trend will become more pronounced and the use of technology to achieve efficiencies will ultimately improve customer focus and confidence.

Workplace changes

This is especially true for IT / ITeS companies, where the work-from-home model has increasingly become an integral part of their long-term strategy. CEOs around the world are already looking to cut costs, and real estate is the number one goal. “The trend of consolidation in a place that companies were considering can now be re-aligned with the hub-and-spoke model. Therefore, we may see the acquisition of smaller properties in exchange for individual large offices. However, standards of health, hygiene and social distancing will prevail over spatial efficiency, and Reorganizing workplaces for a post-Covid world, "says Muggu.

Foreign investors will continue to bet on commercial real estate

Foreign investment remains dynamic in the rental asset sector. Even during the closing, there was good demand from overseas investors for high-quality assets in India, indicating confidence in the industry example, such as the Brookfield-RMZ and Blackstone-Prestige deals that made headlines. Also, from the perspective of the institutional investor, REITs will continue to be the main topic and we will have more REITs hitting the capital markets in 2021.

"The asset class that has benefited directly from the various changes is the warehousing and logistics sector, which will continue to be in high demand from various sectors such as e-commerce, 3PL, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, etc., and we will see a big boost in this space. " Muggu says.

Therefore, although 2020 has been a challenging year, the real estate sector has the potential and is poised to be one of the main drivers to support the overall growth of the economy.

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