| IoT investment can bring post-pandemic prosperity to property sector
We start the year with an eye on the future, and specifically how technology can help commercial real estate (CRE) developers and landlords meet their sustainability goals.
In a guest feature, Richard Morris, Director at technologywithin, suggests that operators in the CRE sector should think seriously about investing in Internet of Things (IoT) technology to provide a platform for 'post-pandemic prosperity'.
"As targets for net-zero emissions get ever closer, CRE landlords should embrace technology to make their offerings more sustainable – and more appealing to tenants who are increasingly environmentally conscious," says Morris. "By leveraging Internet of Things and cloud storage tech, landlords can provide offices equipped for the pandemic and beyond, optimising energy usage and facilitating other lifestyle changes that benefit the environment.'
We also examine the performance and prospects for residential markets, with high-net-worth mortgage broker Enness Global, and estate agents Barrows and Forrester, Benham and Reeves, and Dexters all in positive mood about the Prime Central London (PCL) sector as well as other high-end international markets.
Dexters expects PCL resi transactions to double in 2021, while Benham and Reeves is reporting increased demand in all London segments apart from the GBP10 million-plus market. Dubai, Geneva, Berlin, Paris, New York, and Hong Kong meanwhile, have all seen positive pandemic property price growth, according to Emness Global.
"The current pandemic is yet to dent the appetite of high-end, international homebuyers in many flagship markets worldwide," says Enness Global Mortgages MD, Hugh Wade-Jones. "As a result, these go-to destinations of the super-wealthy have continued to register strong property price growth almost across the board, despite the dark clouds of Covid hanging over them."
The UK buy-to-let market may not be in such good shape though, according to Howsy, with the lettings management platform reporting a 9 per cent drop in demand in Q4 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
"With landlords already facing a tough time trying to turn a profit as a result of multiple changes to government legislation, it may be some time before the buy-to-let sector recovers from a stock supply point of view,” says founder and CEO, Calum Brannan.
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