CRE After COVID-19: Black Creek Group
Can Commercial Real Estate Weather the Pandemic?
September 2020 | Raj Dhanda | National Real Estate Investor
COVID-19 has redefined countless aspects of our personal and professional lives, and as we enter the second half of 2020, we continue to be asked—is commercial real estate well-positioned to weather a global pandemic?
As owners and operators of industrial, multifamily, retail and office properties, we have been closely monitoring the impact of changing economic conditions on the industry and believe that commercial real estate will exhibit considerable resiliency during challenging times.
Here’s a closer look at what we’re seeing— and what we anticipate may be to come—across the four sectors we operate:
Industrial—An accelerating ecommerce boom fueling industrial real estate demand
With many consumers at home since March, it is no surprise that there has been a significant e-commerce boom with recent online sales reaching Black Friday levels. Due to this increase, it is projected that e-commerce could account for 25 percent of retail sales well before previous expectations of 2025. Retailers are now occupying more industrial space to not only meet this increased demand, but to store more inventory to avoid any future supply chain disruptions. Given these driving factors, the industrial sector appears to be one of the long-term beneficiaries exiting the pandemic.
