Real Estate Executives’ Top Concerns for 2021

(iStock / Illustration by Kevin Rebong for The Real Deal)

After a terrible year for much of the real estate world, executives see no full recovery this year or next, but are optimistic about the immediate future of their own businesses.

A survey of real estate managers found that 85 percent see 2021 as a year of opportunity for their businesses, but 70 percent said the commercial real estate sector will not return to pre-Covid levels until at least 2023.

“You’re scratching your head,” said Ron Gart, partner and chairman of the Washington, DC real estate practice, at Seyfarth Shaw law firm, which conducted the survey. “They think the rest of the economy, the rest of the commercial real estate, will take two to three years to recover. But they are extremely optimistic about themselves. And I don’t have a good answer on how you reconcile the two. “

The email survey was answered by 144 property owners, developers, investors, asset managers, brokers, lenders and advisors.

Her most pressing concerns were the closure of restaurants, gyms, and other businesses; Eviction and enforcement moratoriums; and a recession in the United States.

In addition, 90 percent believe that relocating from home will have a long-term impact on the office market, while 70 percent believe the same for the residential real estate market.

The industry was divided over the Biden administration. 54 percent said it won’t have a positive impact on commercial real estate in 2021. (In last year’s poll, only 4 percent said Biden is the cheapest candidate for the real estate industry.) In 2017, more than two-thirds of those polled believed the Trump administration would have a positive impact on the market.

Although Biden has spoken of abolishing 1,031 exchanges, 62 percent of those polled didn’t expect the tax reform to have a significant impact on the industry this year.

Contact Sasha Jones