The Commercial Property Industry has seen new tenant demands and new investment opportunities in 2020.  This was a year unlike any we've ever experienced, with lock-downs, social distancing, border closures and work-from-home. The resulting recession found many people unemployed or on Job-keeper. It is no surprise then that the commercial real estate industry was impacted.

Many office tenants who pivoted to work-from-home, are re-evaluating their future office space needs. Lock-downs restrictions put a strain on the restaurant and retail industries. Small businesses had to come up with creative solutions. For example, new outdoor dining arrangements to keep their restaurants alive.

In investment, buyers saw new opportunities to take advantage of hard-hit asset prices in hospitality. Other property types such as industrial and warehouse buildings emerged as winners due to a dramatic rise in online shopping.

Commercial Property Guide has compiled a number of articles highlighting some of the emerging new trends in commercial real estate as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic.

On The Up: 2020's Winning Investment Sectors

Commercial real estate investment will look quite different after this year’s unprecedented events. The search for secure tenants has seen a marked shift in perceptions of what constitutes a safe investment, and the effects seem set to last for a while yet.

7 Ways to Wrangle Your Rent

Despite an avalanche of information on managing commercial rent during COVID-19, tenancy advocates are receiving high volumes of inquiry from business owners flummoxed by the new government codes and guidelines. Along with landlords, tenants are needing help navigating the rules of this new playing field - and as per usual, the devil is in the detail.

Festive Times Return to Retail

The retail sector is enjoying a shot in the arm as Christmas shoppers flocked back to shops in a show of confidence. As restrictions eased around the country, research by Deloitte found 72 per cent of Australian consumers are happy to face holiday crowds in stores and malls compared to 61 per cent of Americans and 55 per cent of those in the UK. About 70 percent of retailers are also forecasting their e-commerce sales to exceed those of last year.

Overhauling the Office.

Next time you turn up at your favourite café do not be surprised if it’s filled with desks, workers with not a barista or egg and bacon roll in sight. It is simply one of the latest COVID-driven trends appearing as the pandemic continues to transform our “new normal” working lives.

Distribution's Brave New World – coming to a warehouse near you

What sounds like a simple task – delivering goods to consumers – has become one of the most challenging tasks facing retailers.  Thanks to rising online sales igniting the field of automated warehousing, large-scale facilities filled with the latest gizmos are cropping up along the eastern seaboards and bringing with them a whole new set of challenges. From choosing the best warehousing tech (which robot is better?) to international players grappling with local legal and finance law, the automated logistics solution scene is brimming with questions.

Iconic Pubs are Hot Property

Low interest rates and signs of better times ahead have seen some of the country’s best known premium pubs and hotels change hands this year. Transactions have been notable not only due to many hotels’ high profiles but also for ticking the same boxes - being long-held, well-presented properties situated in front-row locations.

Flight to the Suburbs

Investment dollars are increasingly charting a course to the suburbs thanks to the ripple effect of worker sentiment. Major purchases of large office towers and developments are featuring alongside those of such smaller premises as sports facilities and run-of-the-mill retail shops, both the big end of town and mum and dad investors looking beyond CBDs for stable tenants and strong yields.

Subleasing Heads Mainstream

Like face masks, hand sanitiser and working from home, subleasing has become part of our ‘new normal’. Latest research shows an increase of more than 30 per cent nationally in the past three months to a new peak of just over 350,000sqm, or two per cent of total office stock. Increasing tenant uncertainty in the wake of economic turmoil is the driver, and although office markets are slowly on the improve, sublease space is forecast to become even more popular in coming months.

Kids Play Turns Big Business 

The business of providing care and education to our young has become a standout success during a year filled with economic turmoil. Childcare centres are one of the fastest growing asset classes with average sale prices rising from $2.077 million in 2011/12 to $4.171 million in 2019/20.