CRE Turns Bearish On Office Sector As Remote Work Gains

Bisnow (July 29, 2020) California office developers and financiers have worsening outlooks on the state's office sector after a coronavirus-induced recession and concerns about remote work, Allen Matkins and UCLA Anderson Forecast said in a new report. In their latest California Commercial Real Estate survey, the law firm and forecasting group recorded worsening sentiments across property types, calling remote work's effect on the office sector in particular "an open question." The biannual survey asks California developers and financiers in the office, retail, industrial and multifamily sectors about how well they predict their respective property types will fare in six of the state's biggest markets three years into the future. John M. Tipton, a partner in Allen Matkins' real estate division, said sentiments could change drastically with more certainty. "We've got to get another data point," Tipton said of the need for another survey in six months to determine what trends last. "Stuff is still going to get built, but the spec buildings — no, they're not." Read More