At the Greater Richmond Association for Commercial Real Estate's market review, panelists were asked to forecast the greater Richmond area's commercial real estate market condition for the next five to 10 years. Interestingly enough, according to Richmond Times, the experts in the gathering had no ready answer to the question.
One thing they agreed upon was that the 'Millenials' and the 'Gen Z,' the generation after, will be driving the need for different approaches to real estate properties. Currently, the assets of choice for the people belonging to these groups tend to be co-working spaces, smaller apartments, and lots of spaces to walk outside--even in an urban area.
Wink Ewing of Newmark Knight Frank said that these generations also seem to prefer multi-family apartments more than any other type of real estate property. These observations and more were received during the annual Commercial Real Estate Market Review, where panelists were asked about the current state of the real property market, and where they think it's going.
That is also the dominant thought, as Innovation Excellence reported, prevailing in the workplace. Millennials are now 92-million strong in the workforce, and more are only going to join their ranks before the first Generation Z worker arrives. With their number, they are now more dominant than any generation in driving the marketplace, the real estate market included.
The oldest Millenials are now at age 30 and either getting married, starting families, or founding startups and searching for houses. These people are from different races and ethnicities, and they are looking to cut off services and products that don't serve any purpose for them. They are the ones who drive prices and trends now.
As for their choices, a review showed that 2,300 new units of the multifamily sector recently became available, perhaps a reaction towards fulfilling the demand by this market. In 2019 alone, an additional 3,200 units became available. The number may not be that much too, as the Millenials and Gen-Z people are still looking for more.
Co-working and multi-family appear to be the choice of these generations, and it would do well for them to pay attention. Even now, Amy Broderick of Cushman and Wakefield|Thalhimer had received co-working inquiries. Property owners and landlords should be prepared to accommodate if they want to stay in the real estate property game.
