On The Market

230: Post-Pandemic Demand Boomerangs Back to Cities, What Should Investors Do? w/Richard Barkham

Jul 1, 2024

CBRE representative, Richard Barkham, discusses the booming demand in cities post-pandemic, attracting high-paid employees back to offices. He reveals investing opportunities in specific office sectors, predicts interest rate cuts, and advises on strategic investments for significant gains in the next few years.

34:39

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Episode guests

Richard Barkham

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Quick takeaways

Return to downtown living in super cities due to reduced remote work

Investing in prime office spaces for profitable returns amidst changing market dynamics

Deep dives

Shift to Suburbs and Downtown Decline

During the pandemic, there was a significant shift towards remote work and living in the suburbs, impacting downtown areas. Although it's not as drastic as portrayed in the media, downtown spending has somewhat transitioned to suburban areas. The trend varied across city types, with some experiencing more suburban growth, while others like super cities showed a return to downtown living.

Intro

4min

Post-pandemic Urban Migration and the Doom Loop

5min

Prime Office Buildings Thriving Post-Pandemic

10min

Shift towards High-Skilled Workers in Downtown Areas

8min

Economic Outlook, Real Estate Market, and Investment Strategies

8min

“Super cities” are seeing a massive comeback in demand—one that most investors thought was impossible. With work-from-home being scaled back by many major companies, returning to downtown is a no-brainer for high-paid employees. With more amenities than the suburbs, younger workers are being enticed back into the office. And who’s winning with all this boomeranging demand? You guessed it—office investors. We brought CBRE’s Richard Barkham back to give us the latest update on how cities and office investors are faring.

Office investing has been heavily criticized over the past few years as vacancies exploded and tenant turnover became increasingly common. Office space was an easy target as remote work became the new norm. However, trends change, and Richard sees a massive investing opportunity in certain office space sectors. But which cities are worth investing in and around? What type of office investments are faring the best? And will we continue to see downtown demand rebound?

We’ll get into it all in this episode of On the Market. Plus, stick around to hear Richard’s predictions on interest rate cuts, whether or not we’ll achieve a “soft landing,” and what investors must be looking at NOW to make significant gains over the next few years.

In This Episode We Cover

The cities seeing the biggest influx in demand and why Americans are moving back to downtown

Why the “doom loop” scenario never came true, even though so many forecasters predicted it

The one type of office investing that could see a massive surge in demand over the next two years

Richard’s “number one investment strategy” of 2024-2025 that investors MUST look into

How residential real estate investors can take advantage of the rising demand for downtown housing

And So Much More!

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