Adapting to COVID-19: Commercial Real Estate

Adapting to COVID-19_ Commercial Real Estate

The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a new normal which has wreaked havoc on commercial real estate, particularly retail and office buildings. So whether or not commercial real estate can reinvent itself in the post-COVID era, where the work from home culture and internet shopping threaten to gobble away the market share of retail and office space, is an important question to consider.

What is Commercial Real Estate?

Unlike residential real estate, Commercial Real Estate (CRE) is utilised only for business purposes or to offer a workplace, rather than as a place to live. Commercial real estate is often leased to tenants who use it for profit-making purposes. Everything from a little corner business to a massive mall falls under this vast area of commercial real estate. 

Office space, hotels and resorts, strip malls, restaurants, and healthcare facilities are just a few of the many types of real estate that fall under the umbrella term "commercial real estate". 

The following are the most important takeaways

  • Individuals may invest in commercial real estate via REITs, which are publicly listed real estate investment trusts.

  • Office space, industrial space, multi-family rental properties, and retail are the four primary types of commercial real estate.

  • Investment in commercial real estate may offer investors a source of rental income as well as an opportunity for capital gain.

  • Business or income-generating properties are those classified as commercial real estate. 

  • When compared to investing in residential real estate, commercial real estate often requires a higher level of knowledge and resources on the part of investors.

Impact of COVID-19 on Commercial Real Estate:

  • COVID-19 has had a substantial influence on commercial real estate — social isolation and lockdowns have resulted in a decline in demand for a variety of Real Estate asset classes such as retail malls and office buildings, resulting in tenants asking for rent moratoriums.

  • Inability to collect rents has a detrimental effect on owners' ability to fulfil loan commitments, which in turn has a detrimental effect on banks' commercial real estate financing portfolios. 

  • It's worth noting that not all real estate has fared well. 

  • Regional malls, lodging, and student housing have all seen considerable price drops. However, self-storage, industrial, and data centres have suffered less.

  • According to one assessment, the un-levered enterprise value of real estate assets had declined by 25% or more in the majority of industries and by up to 37% in the hotel industry as of April 2020.

  • It's unsurprising that when consumers avoid crowds, institutions send students away, and businesses, restaurants, and hotels lock their doors, owning and managing such facilities becomes less lucrative. 

Adapting to COVID-19 & Forecasts

Banks must take the following steps to mitigate COVID-19's effect on commercial real estate:

  • Adopt more stringent financial constraints to reduce the risk of default and incorporate automated valuation methods and cognitive technology into your strategy. 

  • By lending to resilient groups, lenders may alter their commercial real estate strategy.

  • Recalibrate asset value models via the implementation of more prudent policies.

DIGITISATION - Prior to the crisis, the real estate sector was embracing digitisation and developing digitally enabled services for renters and consumers. Physical separation and the enclosure of physical places have dramatically increased the relevance of digitalisation, especially in terms of tenant and customer experience. 

Forecasts:

  • The majority of studies indicate that the property market is generally strong. J.P. Morgan broadly mirrored this opinion in its "2019 Commercial Real Estate Outlook," noting that 2019 marked the ninth consecutive year of rises in commercial property rentals and values.

  • Except for a brief dip at the start of the pandemic, property prices have stayed stable or even increased, similar to the stock market, which rebounded from its stunning decline in Q2 2020 with an equally dramatic recovery that lasted most of 2021.

Assistance by Indiassetz
Owners of commercial real estate may choose to hire a real estate management service that can help them with identifying and maintaining tenants, coordinating property upkeep and marketability, and overseeing leases. With Indiassetz's resources, we are the best option in India to take care of all your Real Estate needs. Because the rules and regulations governing commercial real estate vary by state, county, municipality, industry, and size, it is important to have a commercial real estate management partner with particular knowledge of these laws and regulations. Indiassetz has a number of options to help you deal with the difficulties of managing your wealth portfolio.


 

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