As we came into 2020 there were trends present across the world that we thought this year would potentially hit a ‘tipping point’ in terms of beginning to have a demonstrable impact on global real estate or – if the factors were already present to some degree – would become so significant that that they could no longer be ignored.

Then Covid-19 changed the world as we know it seemingly overnight, affecting almost every geography and type of property; in some sectors accelerating trends and changes that were already underway, such as in the case of ecommerce and flexible working. But while the virus poses immediate health and economic challenges, other global technological, demographic, social and climate tipping points have not gone away. Notwithstanding the obvious human cost of the current pandemic, the changes that some of these tipping points – most notably the climate crisis - have the potential to unleash may well make the impact of Covid-19 look relatively small when we take the long view.

The advantage the real estate industry has though on this occasion is that we can see many of these other tipping points coming and have the capacity and time (although many would argue that opportunities to stave off major climate change are rapidly running out) to evolve and adapt.

Our Impacts 2020 programme therefore examines the key trends to track in the coming months and years, and the effects they may have on real estate occupiers and investors across the globe. How is social and technological change shaping the retail sector, or the fast-growing biotech sector; how will we meet the climate change challenge though sustainable building practices, and which regions are best placed to deliver food and water security, are just some of the questions we seek to answer.

In the above podcast, me and my Savills world research colleague Paul Tostevin, alongside Emily Norton (rural research), Sarah Dreyer (US research) and Simon Smith (Asia-Pac research) discuss these issues, and others raised in Impacts, in more detail.

Read more at savills.com/impacts

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