The future of commercial real estate belongs to those who can meet the evolving needs of the office

Lockdowns and remote work presented unique challenges for the commercial real estate sector. Vast amounts of office space were suddenly empty as people worked from home. But the sector is rebounding. There are projects underway in cities around the world are a testament to investors’ confidence in its outlook, says Sebastien Betermier, an Associate Professor of Finance at Desautels. Yet many knowledge workers are telecommuting at least some of the time, and with more offices adopting a hybrid model, offices need to work differently than they did before. That’s an opportunity for landlords, Betermier says, noting those that are agile at retrofitting their office spaces in a way that meets the needs of the future workplace will win in the transition.