2023 Winter Issue - 80

industry. The report is clear in its acknowledgment that
people, community, and society are integral pieces of a landlord's
responsibility. This awareness is part of a strong current
toward a new breed of capitalism-one that recognizes
OVERALL REAL ESTATE PROSPECTS
the role real estate companies should play in designing better
places.
Providing access to decent-quality, affordable housing was
raised by many as a duty for property companies to address.
In the interviews, leaders reflected on their worries about the
pandemic of loneliness, growing inequality, and aging societies.
They also see the need to think carefully about facilitating
an acceptable quality of life for people living in ever-morecrowded
cities. As one person interviewed said, " Fast forward
20 years, and what we will see is a built environment that will
be human-centric across the board. It will be in everything we
do-the way we invest money, the way we develop, the way
we build and manage. "
This greater connection with the people who use buildings
will also be a driver behind a growing focus on " value and
not just valuation. " Interviewees argued that the coming years
will see occupiers expecting buildings to help create genuine
long-term value for their own business and brand. Thus, landlords
will become more involved in ensuring that the occupant
can create that worth by keeping the space appropriate,
up to date, and conducive to the relevant activity. " While this
may mean more and more frequent capex [capital expenditure],
less income certainty, and more intensive management,
it will also create real value, " one interviewee said.
Source: Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2023 survey.
Technology Is Key
The report also reveals that technology has been a major
enabler of closer, more communicative relationships and
foresees that this connection will only grow as smartphone
apps and mobile tracking technology help harvest the data
imperative for improving and maintaining a pleasant environment.
Such transparency is a far cry from what was available
at the time of the first report, when the industry was only just
beginning to measure its performance for growing numbers
of interested institutional investors. But, as this year's report
notes, that was also a market without climate change or
globalization and in which hotels, health care, and student
accommodation were way beyond mainstream strategies.
However, the seeds of such trends were just visible even
then. In 2005, Emerging Trends Europe noted the emergence
of niche sectors such as self-storage in the hunt for income;
and a year earlier, one astute interviewee said, " We are building
as we have for the last 30 years . . . without questioning
if this meets the requirements of a changing society. " The
interviewees of this year's report certainly think about it now.
The next two decades of Emerging Trends Europe are likely to
report on an industry that continues to do so. UL
LUCY ANNA SCOTT is coauthor of Emerging Trends in Real Estate®
2023 and is deputy editor of Real Estate Capital.
Europe
78
URBAN LAND
WINTER 2023
2023 Winter Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2023 Winter Issue
