Only the Paranoid (Office Investors) Survive

Questions abound over the future of the office market, where merely a few years ago, the answers were taken for granted: Will we need offices in the future? Is office now experiencing its “retail moment”? How should one even think about valuing a stabilised office building in the first place?

Our latest research paper looks at the transformation that is now sweeping the office sector’s competitive landscape. We show how two decades of shorter lease lengths and declining renewal rates have led to a breakdown in the traditional office business model, and we argue that investors will increasingly need to look to other parts of the sector—namely, best-in-class, HQ-style offices and flexible offices—for clues about what will drive office values in the coming decade.