More attention on property but flight to quality: ULI/EY report

Remote working is here to stay, according to ULI Europe CEO Lisette van Doorn who talked to Real Asset Media’s Richard Betts following the recent publication of the EY/ULI Future of Work 2020 report.

While around 20% of the office workforce worked remotely for 20% of the time pre-Covid, this escalated to 60% working for 40% of the time during the pandemic. This trend is not likely to be easily reversed.

The consequence will be an increased focus on the quality of offices and a dramatic increase in the attention paid to real estate, van Doorn said. There will be a rising emphasis on the office as a place for collaboration.

However, the majority of respondents to the survey thought that demand for offices would fall, 25% thought by over 20%. And a gap will emerge following a “flight to quality”.

That “quality” will be both a reference to location as well as physical specification and those offices that fall short may have a limited future with repurposing the only option, van Doorn says.

Click on the video to watch the full interview or listen via the podcast below.

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