The real estate sector finds itself in the middle of a time of transition, with property needs changing at the fastest pace seen in decades. Now, more than ever, managing risk across commercial property and real estate portfolios comes with its challenges.
This section aims to keep the real estate and property sector up-to-date with the latest property news, expert property management advice, and information and resources to support real estate risk management from purchases and construction to tenancies and sales.
Supporting Real Estate During the Property Transition
One of the biggest challenges faced is a transition in line with new working trends and consumer spending habits suddenly brought about by the pandemic. As many companies look to incorporate working from home options, they are also starting to review their lease costs and downsize their office spaces, which has implications for commercial property owners.
In contrast, the boom in online shopping has resulted in a huge demand for warehouse spaces to store e-commerce products, offering new opportunities for the real estate sector. Naturally, this transition from high street and office properties to large out-of-town warehouses brings with it new risks to consider.
Other risk factors have recently emerged too. The floods seen in 2019 and 2020 saw insurers employ new flood mapping systems. This is making it harder to get cover on properties deemed to be a flood risk, although there are alternatives to flood cover that can be sought. The cladding scandal brought about by the Grenfell tragedy has also made insurers more wary. This means property owners need to know information about every material used in construction, and how the property was constructed, in order to get cover.
There is a lot of new ground to cover in real estate risk management but, by gaining a strong understanding of the risks, and the information needed to protect their portfolio, the real estate sector can look forward to future growth and new opportunities.
