EVENT COVERAGE: REAL ESTATE DIGITAL CONFERENCE
Real estate leaders weigh in on the future of office Around 100 attendees took part in the first-ever Commercial Real Estate Digital Conference.
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he future of the office will have more flexible arrangements as businesses worldwide continue to adjust to changes in working conditions. Primarily, the office will function as a magnet for people to interact, said EY Partner Seng Leong Teh in Realestate Asia’s “Commercial Real Estate Digital Conference” held last 8 June 2021. “Work from home is not a fad, we think it is here to stay. There is productivity gain and there’s value in work from home. Whilst we acknowledge the flaws associated with this, we believe that there is a need to change our way of thinking to make hybrid work effective,” he said. Teh said that with the hybrid model, office will not just be a place to come to. Employees will come regularly either to socialize or to network. “The future office requires a significant amount of investment, especially in technology. The office space is primarily used to collaborate and network with
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REAL ESTATE ASIA | Q1 2021
Work from home is not a fad; it is here to stay. There is a need to change our way of thinking to make hybrid work effective
colleagues. As such, there needs to be a rethink about how officers are being organized,” he added. Opening flexible arrangements for work will offer ways to ensure productivity from employees. CBRE Singapore Co-head of Office Services David McKellar said that this will benefit those who prefer to have separate office spaces when doing work. “Dwelling sizes in Asia are small and Singapore homes are smaller than the Asia Pacific median. Inadequate workspace, distraction from family members and ambiguity of who bears the cost,” he said, are some of the challenges faced by those in work-from-home arrangements. As commercial spaces adjust to changing needs of lessees, such as downsizing or having preference over shared amenities in buildings, the industry is seen to thrive in the coming years. “The new supply pipeline is forecast to be 25% less for the next four years in comparison to the 10-year historical annual average.
So long as Singapore remains an attractive place for companies to locate, we do not expect to see a glut of availability and rents will likely remain firm for the foreseeable future,” McKellar said, citing Singapore as an example. “Towards the end of 2020, office demand was ramping up. Given Singapore’s highly educated workforce, favorable business environment with low corporate and personal tax rates, and easy access to most major cities within a single flight, Singapore will continue to attract firms from all over the world that engage in business activities within Asia Pacific,” he added. Constantly evolving commercial and public spaces Real estate developers in the Asia Pacific region are gradually adapting to the changing needs of business when it comes to office spaces. GuocoLand is one of the companies that have adapted to this change early on, as can be seen from their recent projects in revamping GuocoTower and in the upcoming Guoco Midtown. Valerie Wong, Asset Management General Manager for GuocoLand Limited, said that they adapted an integrated development connectivity for GuocoLand to F&B, amenities, and public spaces. “The MRT stands over the
