By KERRY SMITH, EDITOR, ST. LOUIS CONSTRUCTION NEWS AND REVIEW MAGAZINE
The findings of PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) and the Urban Land Institute’s annual survey, Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2022, were shared by Andy Warren, PwC director of research, during CREW-St. Louis’ annual forecast event on December 10.
Continued uncertainty and flexibility are trends dominating the commercial real estate market as brokers, investors, lenders and others look toward 2022. Some 1,200 professionals including private real estate property owners, investors, real estate advisors, servicing firms, asset managers, lenders and construction industry players from across the U.S. answered the survey in mid-2021.
“We made it through the pandemic, but there is a new age of uncertainty,” said Warren, one of several presenters at the CREW-St. Louis virtual event. “Covid impacted every geographic area of the country differently. Likewise, the recovery won’t occur the same everywhere. It looks like our real estate universe is going to get bigger, and that’s good news,” he added.
Among the thriving retail markets post-pandemic, according to survey findings, are dollar stores and home improvement stores. Office is amidst a major reset, the survey found, while certain property types and assets are obsolete as property managers strategize how to repurpose them.
42 percent of survey respondents strongly disagreed with the question, “Will business travel and large-group industry meetings return to pre-COVID-19 levels?” 29 percent agreed that large-group business travel will return to where it was pre-COVID.
“A total of 84 percent of respondents think that the real estate industry will be stronger in 2022 than it has been in 2021,” Warren said. “Although rising operating costs and difficulty obtaining materials are having an impact on inflation and on companies’ bottom lines, it’s not enough to offset the collective optimism for 2022. There is still strong demand in numerous real estate sectors.”
To download the full forecast report and survey findings, see
