Swimming pools, fireplaces and restaurant-to-desk food deliveries are among incentives being incorporated into office spaces to draw workers back.
Such developments were among several topics discussed when CBRE Research Director, Kate Bailey, took the stage at the MBA’s April networking breakfast.
Ms Bailey delved into all aspects of the property market, explaining how both the commercial and residential sectors had changed during the pandemic. Lockdowns, and local and international border closures have altered not only the way we live but the way we do business.
“(Pre-pandemic) we had one of the largest office development booms since the Gold Rush and that was driven by population growth,” Ms Bailey said. “Then COVID came. It was one of the more poorly time development booms.
“We have not had a huge amount of (population) growth in the past two years but we’re expecting that to ramp up.
“The more people we have, the more accountants and real estate agents and other skills we need to support that growth.
“We’re expecting the next development boom in 2024. It gives us a bit of time to have that population recover and see some of the white collar job growth come through.”
Ms Bailey said other property sectors had already experienced enormous growth. Warehousing, for instance, ramped up with the increase in Ecommerce.
An estimated seventy business people turned out last Thursday to hear Ms Bailey talk. Two Award nominees were also introduced at the event: Mario’s Meats & Co, and Trusted Financial Choice (TFC).
TFC owner Varun Goyal praised Ms Bailey’s presentation.
“We are in the financial industry so it was very, very insightful,” Mr Goyal said. “This information is going to one hundred percent help people I talk to every day.”
The MBA would like to thank Ms Bailey and CBRE for their time and expertise. CBRE is a commercial real estate services and investment firm, offering project, property and investment management, appraisal and valuation, mortgage services and more. For further information go to Commercial Real Estate – CBRE Australia | CBRE.
