The Future of Commercial Real Estate

Despite the increase in online purchases due to the restrictions imposed by governments during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional shopping activities that involve family members going to a physical store and spending time there are still prevalent. This means that commercial real estate has not lost its value, but on the contrary, with the easing of social distancing measures in many countries, the prices of these properties have rebounded and recovered. As a result of changes in people's lifestyles and their interactions with each other, it has become imperative for real estate development companies, sellers of commercial real estate units, and owners of commercial properties to work together to keep up with these changes and pave the way for the future development of commercial real estate units.

This places the responsibility on real estate development companies to design multi-purpose commercial real estate units that provide consumers with an experience that includes shopping, purchasing, and contracting for various services. It also includes social activity facilities that have decreased due to the pandemic, including providing a gathering place for family members, relatives, and friends, as well as dedicated play areas for children and other recreational facilities such as cafes, restaurants, and cinemas. It is not necessary for every commercial property to provide all these elements, as one or some of them can be chosen according to the nature of the economic activity. For example, there are many bookstores and car showrooms that allocate a space for a café, allowing their customers to rest while shopping.

While what is marketed through media and social media is that commercial and service activities have declined due to the pandemic, recent studies confirm that this decline had already begun long before the pandemic, and the reason for this can be attributed to the lack of quality in commercial real estate units or poor location choices, or both. This is where the importance of the role of real estate development companies in designing commercial real estate units that are suitable for the purposes for which they were created, as well as choosing the appropriate location and enhancing the concept of feasibility study by evaluating the adjacent residential communities to the commercial real estate sites and assessing their need for them.

The role played by real estate development companies in solidifying the concept of quality in commercial real estate units will have the greatest impact on the prosperity of commercial and service activities in the coming years. Quality here is not limited to the designs of commercial real estate or their locations or their feasibility studies alone. Real estate development companies can design smart commercial buildings that take into account environmental conservation factors, such as the use of sustainable energy sources like solar energy to operate commercial real estate units, and the use of construction materials that reduce emissions that contribute to the exacerbation of the greenhouse effect, among other environmental factors.