See how digital technology trends are changing how we think about the life cycle of buildings

by Brianna Crandall — May 08, 2019 — NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, has released several video clips in recent weeks from its CRE.Converge 2018 event covering real estate industry trends, as well as the keynote address from the 2019 National Forums Symposium on the real estate market outlook for the US and Canada. NAIOP’s 19,000 members in North America include developers, owners and related professionals in office, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate.

Digital technology

The NAIOP Insights: Trending in Commercial Real Estate video clip asserts that the biggest thing happening in commercial real estate is “digital disruption,” or change that occurs when new digital technology and business models impact the way commercial real estate (CRE) professionals such as facilities managers (FMs) do their work.

According to Dale Dekker, AIA, AICP, principal with Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, who is featured in the video, traditionally, construction and commercial real estate have lagged behind other industries, but today’s technology is changing so rapidly it’s resetting the framework for how we look at CRE.

Now, a building is no longer a 40- to 50-year asset that you can just remodel on an occasional basis — it’s a dynamic process, because technology put in today can be quickly outdated.

With the convergence of numerous technologies, Dekker says there is a need for the CRE industry to shape that environment and to help create places where people can thrive.

Last-mile distribution

In NAIOP Insights: Last-Mile Distribution and the Supply Chain, Greg Healey, executive managing director of supply chain and logistics with Colliers International, shows how developers are using real-time data to learn as much about possible about the people and areas where they’re creating new spaces.

According to Healey, everybody is looking at how to master the supply chain for competitive advantage, and extreme growth in e-commerce facilities has helped get inventory closer to consumers, including the increasing redevelopment of office, retail and mall spaces into last-mile delivery facilities.

Big data

NAIOP Insights: Creating Personalized Experiences with Big Data features Donna Salvatore, CEO of Megalytics, Inc., who points out that developers are using real-time data to learn as much about possible about the people and areas where they’re creating new spaces.

Today, the tool sets that CRE developers have are helping bring together real-time data that can be used to learn about shoppers, residents and more, combining granular census data with big data to provide more insights than previously imagined.

Retail real estate: redevelopment

Geoffrey Millerd, vice chairman with Newmark Knight Frank, says in the NAIOP Insights: Blurring the Retail Line video clip that redevelopment is almost 100% of what’s going on in retail real estate.

Today, developers are selecting premier spots where they have access to customers, and that often means reusing existing retail locations. E-commerce and changes in consumer behavior are driving retailers to spend more capital than ever to keep buyers interested. Millerd says omnichannel retail is key: using online sales to drive brick-and-mortar locations.

Real estate outlook for US and Canada

The National Forums Symposium 2019 keynote address was presented by Douglas Poutasse, executive vice president and head of Strategy and Research, Bentall Kennedy. NAIOP released an audio recording and blog recap of his address: Market Perspectives: U.S. and Canada Real Estate Outlook.

In his keynote address, Poutasse provided his expert outlook for the economy, capital markets and property markets in Canada and the US. His data-driven insights can help you stay informed and ahead of coming real estate trends, areas of growth and future market demand.

Listen to the audio recording and view the presentation slides (NAIOP members only), or read the recap on NAIOP’s Market Share blog.

Douglas Poutasse has more than 35 years of experience as an economic analyst and forecaster. In his role as executive vice president and head of strategy at Bentall Kennedy, Poutasse has overall responsibility for directing the Canadian and US research teams. He serves on Bentall Kennedy’s group management committee and US and Canadian investment committees.