A global survey by auditing firm Deloitte on global investments in commercial real estate (CRE) has revealed that Africa receives less than one per cent of the global capital invested in commercial property.
According to the survey, US, Hong Kong and China are the most favoured commercial real estate markets.
The survey also revealed that data centres and health centres are the most preferred assets by investors outside of traditional assets. 67 percent of investors plan to increase investments in data centres over the next 18 months while 55 percent of investors plan to increase investments in healthcare (including senior housing). These are followed by mobile towers (49%), single family housing (47%) and student housing (29%).
The analysis by Deloitte also showed that a good number of investors (48%) are interested in new and emerging business models while 45% focus on thematic investments including flexible spaces and flexible leases. However, a good number 49% still invest for portfolio and risk diversification.
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On the impact of technology on commercial real estate, the analysis showed that nearly 53 percent of respondents said that technology advancements will have the greatest impact on legacy properties within the next three years, while 15 percent believe that the impact is already visible.
Also, more than 80 percent of the survey sample believed that CRE companies should prioritize the use of predictive analytics and business intelligence with 40 percent of them saying they planned to use the two technologies in making investment decisions over the next two years.
Most CRE companies are grappling with the challenge of prioritizing investments between needs and different technologies.
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