The Urban Land Institute and PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) have published their Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2015 forecast report.
This is a lengthy report but worthwhile to peruse.
Some points in “Chapter 1: Sustaining Momentum but Taking Nothing for Granted” are:
- Job growth will be in those cities that have an activity in the evening, the live-work-play experience
- During the next seven years watch whether millennials stay in urban centers or move to the suburbs
- Boomers actually set the trend of moving to urban areas
- Medical office use strengthening
- US labor force may face a worker shortage
- Technology is pushing the change of how space is used; focus on tech and media companies to lease office space, retailers are using the internet to drive consumers into stores
- US is not investing in its infrastructure, which will be a problem for real estate if it continue; public/private partnerships may help
“Chapter 2: Real Estate Capital Flows” indicates that for 2015 it may be better to be a seller than a buyer.
A few points in “Chapter 3: Markets to Watch”
- You have to pick the right market that will be sustainable
- Crowdsourcing is a movement to raise capital for real estate which may be subject to regulation in the future
- Equity and debt investors are moving ahead, carefully
- Capital will continue to flow in more markets in 2015
- Dollars invested in tertiary markets continue to grow
- Due to rising labor costs overseas, US manufacturing is coming back
“Chapter 4: Property Type Outlook”, provides an in-depth look at these property types: Industrial, Hotels, Apartments, Retail, Offices, & Housing.