The pandemic has significantly changed the way that people work, and undoubtedly, the workplace will have to change—but landlords are not pivoting as fast as they need to. Or, at least that is the results of a recent survey from essensys and compiled by Verdantix. The report shows that only 13% of occupiers believe that commercial real estate owners are prepared to meet new tenant needs.

Flexible workplaces are among the top demand, and Jeremy Bernard, CEO North America at essensys, says that landlords need to start offering more leasing models. "Landlords need to provide a variety of lease and term options to tenants across their portfolio," Bernard tells GlobeSt.com. "The reality, particularly in urban core markets, is that vacancy is at historical highs. Landlords are more likely to lease space on flexible terms than in a traditional model. Some rent even on shorter flexible lease terms is better than zero rent on longer lease terms. There's no certainty of income when you have vacant space."

Landlords are catching on. According to the survey, 67% of landlords listed flexible leases as a way to increase revenue. In addition to flexibility, tenants want also services, amenities, tech-enabled workspaces and a network of locations. Bernard calls all of these features critical. "It's about providing trust and confidence in the return to the office for the immediate future," adds Bernard. "But landlords need to position their portfolio now for the long-term to continue serving their tenants' evolving real estate needs. It's the only way they can stay relevant and drive revenues."

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Kelsi Maree Borland

Kelsi Maree Borland is a freelance journalist and magazine writer based in Los Angeles, California. For more than 5 years, she has extensively reported on the commercial real estate industry, covering major deals across all commercial asset classes, investment strategy and capital markets trends, market commentary, economic trends and new technologies disrupting and revolutionizing the industry. Her work appears daily on GlobeSt.com and regularly in Real Estate Forum Magazine. As a magazine writer, she covers lifestyle and travel trends. Her work has appeared in Angeleno, Los Angeles Magazine, Travel and Leisure and more.