This is one of the main conclusions from Cushman & Wakefield’s “Global Office Impact Study”, developed by the consultant’s Global Think Tank, composed by a team of researchers and economists from all over the world, who analyse cyclic and structural changes which impact the office global market, as well as the implications concerning its recovery. «We wanted to answer the fundamental question of “which future for offices?”, and to do it we studied scientifically the factors created by the pandemic and their effect on the office segment», commented Kevin Thorpe, Chief Economist and Global Head of Research at Cushman & Wakefield.
The study revealed that until 2025 the market should make a full recovery, depending on the region. Full recovery is consistent with what was observed during the 2008 financial crisis, with a «slight delay» due to the remote work trend and the consequent increase in demand for offices and rents. In 2025, the office global availability rate should reach the pre-Covid levels of approximately 11%, as well as the same rent values.
«We analysed the collective impact of these factors, including unemployment, availability rates, rents, geographical characteristics and the expansion of remote work, to establish future scenarios, which, according to our estimates, point towards a full recovery of this market, recognising however that all markets have local specificities and that not all will have the same recovery standard», explained Kevin Thorpe.
For Rebecca Rockey, Global Head of Forecasting at Cushman & Wakefield, «even if the remote work trend slows down the office market’s recovery, the general growth of office-based jobs, together with other factors such as corporate culture and productivity, indicate that the office segment will continue to play an important role in the economy of the future». And she concluded that «with this study, we analysed an uncertain future, based on science and empirical data»
“Global Office Impact Study 2020” is the first of four reports which will offer a new perspective in terms of the future of the office segment and the role it will play in a post-pandemic scenario.
