The coronavirus crisis has repercussions for the real estate market. Office, retail and hotel spaces face a variety of challenges. We expect countries and sectors with higher liquidity to be the first to recover.
Despite the current trend towards working from home, Swiss Life Asset Managers sees sustained to rising demand for office space in prime locations. In 2020, it expects lower take-up, followed by a recovery in the medium to long term.
The pandemic has accelerated structural changes in the retail sector and amplified the negative impact on capital growth. The main driver in this regard is online commerce. However, Swiss Life Asset Managers expects tenant demand for retail space offering comfort and service to endure.
The sector most affected by the crisis is probably hospitality. The increase in domestic travel has failed to offset the losses in international tourism and business travel. Swiss Life Asset Managers does not expect to achieve pre-crisis levels before 2022.
Swiss Life Asset Managers currently views the private rental sector as secure. Housing shortages and growing urban populations have so far kept 2020 prices and investment volumes stable.
