Emerging Trends in Real Estate: 2021

It’s safe to say that the pandemic has affected almost all aspects of our lives, including how we inhabit cities and our use of real estate. One of the points of agreement is that COVID-19 did not create new trends but accelerated those that were already underway. ULI’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate give us some great insight into those changes and trends for 2021 and beyond including: 

Changing How and Where We Work:

90 percent of survey respondents stated that “in the future, more companies will choose to allow employees to work remotely at least part of the time.” WFH may lead to different models of how companies lease and use office space. Some companies may move from a consolidated model to a hub-and-spoke system with satellite offices in suburban areas. But, WFH is not preferred or ideal for all employees and raises important cultural and social equity issues as younger and lower-income employees prefer an office due to a better learning environment, connection and they are less likely to have adequate space to work from home.

Moving From Dense Cities to Suburbs:

A significant single-family-housing market trend emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic is that people (and businesses) are moving in all sorts of ways—to different geographies, from denser cities to the suburbs, from an apartment to a home, and, for some, back “home” to live with family members.

Re-inventing Cities Post-Covid:

Cities adapted to COVID-19 restrictions with creative solutions such as street dining and designating more public space for non vehicular use. Building on decades of recognition of the value of parks and green space, and the need for lower-cost housing and quality schools, further innovation is both likely and necessary to provide these and other amenities that are often more widely available in suburbs.

Affordable Housing Crisis Will Worsen Without Intervention:

Years of underfunding and a lack of investment and focus have created a housing affordability crisis in most markets. COVID-19 related job loss will worsen this situation for low-income workers until those jobs are restored. Public and private sector Interventions are required to solve this growing crisis. 

Download the full report to learn more about these emerging trends for 2021 and beyond.