Low interest rates, socially responsible investing, and climate impacts among global trends identified in Avison Young’s 2020 Forecast; cautious optimism about the outlook for local markets around the world

Toronto – Avison Young today released its global 2020 Forecast, including ten trends to know for 2020, and national and local property market outlooks for markets around the world. The annual report series provides perspective on how global events, trends and indicators impact commercial real estate in a variety of sectors, including capital markets, office, retail, industrial, multi-family and hospitality, among others.

“Understanding economic, geopolitical and business drivers is central to how we help clients navigate the current market and prepare real estate strategies that have resilience for the future,” said Dr.Nick Axford, Global Head of Research for Avison Young.

Among the trends impacting real estate strategies and business identified by Avison Young:

• Lower for longer: How investors are dealing with a low inflation, low interest rate world.
• Power to the people: Landlords, developers and occupiers need to pay increasing attention to local political activism, as today’s street protests increasingly signal tomorrow’s policy initiatives.
• (De)globalization: The pace of globalization is slowing, and in some areas is starting to reverse as nearshoring and the localization of supply chains gathers momentum.
• Building resilience: Cities across the world are leading the charge in responding to climate change, to ensure economic, social and environmental sustainability
• (Place)making an impact: Placemaking is becoming the focus of socially responsible investors looking for impact investment opportunities.

“In the US, a strong labor market is supporting market stability, Canada’s market is buoyed by solid fundamentals, and in the UK the political focus is shifting to the debate over the country’s future trading arrangements with the EU,” added Axford. “Though uncertainty remains throughout the world, our forecast reveals that opportunities remain across all sectors - driven by an increased focus on responsible investing, climate change, the implications of continued low interest rates, and other factors.”

Avison Young’s Trends commentary has been prepared based on the market knowledge and experience of Avison Young professionals around the world, along with additional sources. To access global, national and local forecasts from across the Avison Young network, please visit: www.avisonyoung.com/2020-forecast.