The past couple of years have seen more dramatic shifts in the world of commercial real estate than usual. Roles have changed, industries have risen and fallen and untold professional and personal lives have been affected.
The drastic shifts that have occured in service-based industries, in particular, have completely changed opportunities and risks for CRE professionals. Let’s take a look at how the service-based economy will shape the future of commercial real estate.
Risks of a Service-Based Economy
In the 2021 commercial real estate outlook, Deloitte had “200 industry leaders weighed in on how their companies are recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.” Here were some of their biggest concerns, which fall in line with the risks associated with our new economy:
- Being unprepared: Only 11 percent of those surveyed agreed that their company “has the resources and skills required to operate a digitally transformed business.” If you weren’t ready for the economic shift, that’s a risk.
- Subpar technology: 56 percent of leaders agreed or strongly agree that “the pandemic revealed issues surrounding technology and digital transformation.”
- No plan for the future: Forecasting and roadmaps are additional risks identified by leaders, with only 16 percent in America saying they have a defined digital transformation roadmap.
Opportunities of a Service-Based Economy
The good news is that all of the above risks can easily be addressed. In addition to that, here are some of the more optimistic areas of opportunity that leaders revealed:
- Lack of competition using technology: If you invest in CRE software or technology, you’ll be ahead of the game, as 57 percent of leaders expect no change or a decrease in technology investment in the next 12 months.
- Better data for more informed decisions: For nearly every category of gathering data, most CRE companies aren’t confident or aware of the data they’re capturing. This means you can have an advantage if you have visibility into data they don’t.
- Clear market insights for serviced-based opportunities: Building on the last point, you’ll be able to identify better market opportunities for service-based investment opportunities like banks, hotels, retail spaces, restaurants and more.
The Role of CRE In a Service-Based Economy
The role of the commercial real estate professional in today’s economy is dependent on the tools and strategies at his or her disposal. If you’re prepared and have invested in powerful CRE technology like the tools that Quarem offers, you’ll be ahead of the game and can take advantage of any economic changes that may happen again. You’ll have the technology, data, roadmap and forecasting tools that your competitors don’t.
If you’d like to learn more about the role of CRE in a service-based economy, we’d love to show you how Quarem can set you up for success. Request a demo today.