Real Estate On The Move Report

The ‘new normal’ has created a host of emerging property trends that have reshaped the future of the way we live and work, but what particular opportunities will allow property developers and investors to capitalise on? Our recent real estate market survey of 5,000 people in the UK has shown a variety of trends including, new levels of flexibility, a switch in retail habits, demand for different living spaces and a shift in demographics.

Our real estate sector report shows that workplace habits within large and small organisations have rapidly changed due to an increase of people working remotely. Companies are now spending time rethinking how they will utilise existing office space as opposed to reducing the overall space. Many are suggesting that it can now be used for team building or team training. 25% of large companies and 17% of SMEs state that they have repurposed space and almost half of companies (47%) believe their organisation will not go back to pre-pandemic work processes.

Flexible working has also had an impact on the residential market with 18% of respondents moving house during the pandemic, with cost of living and the desire for ‘more space’ whilst working from home being the main factors behind these moves. “It suggests that people are placing higher importance on factors that impact the quality of life”, said Stephen Lewis, Partner.

The retail space has gradually been moving from ‘bricks to clicks’ with more than half of the respondents saying that they will visit retail shops less often, increasing the time that they spend online. This shift has meant that a large amount of retail space has become redundant or underused.

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