Real Estate Sentiment Remains Negative, But Glimmers of Hope Appear

Tarrant Parsons

Much of the economic recovery that was underway in the second half of 2020 is going to be set back for a period of time due to the new variants of the virus that are proving to be much more infectious. Many countries are reinstating lockdowns and strict measures to prevent their health-care systems from collapsing. Of course, the vaccine rollout is providing a glimpse of optimism, despite the rather slow vaccination rate.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ fourth quarter Global Commercial Property Monitor, the overall picture remains subdued, but there are signs that select economies are starting to rebound. However, there’s a wide gap between assets classes, with the industrial and logistics sectors almost untouched by the pandemic due to the continued demand for e-commerce space. The office sector is suffering from a great deal of uncertainty as many companies shifted to a remote-only work policy to protect their employees and keep their business running.

Economist Tarrant Parsons told Commercial Property Executive Senior Associate Editor Laura Calugar that the road to recovery is not going to be a smooth one and we shouldn’t expect any significant improvements in the first quarter of 2021. In this episode of our RICS podcast series, Parsons shares details about sentiment among real estate investors and occupiers in different parts of the world and reveals his expectations for the first half of the year. Tune in now!