Italian Real Estate perspective 2021

The global Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be an accelerant of change and transformation for the whole real estate sector that will last well behind the sanitary crisis: sustainability, digital and technology, flexibility of uses and regeneration will characterise the buildings of the future. Prime office assets, logistics, multifamily, data centres and other alternative asset classes will continue to benefit from investors’ defensive strategies. Retail and hospitality sectors will see a profound transformation that will lead them to a technological leap. For Corporate Real Estate leaders, this is an opportunity to rethink the historical workplace models as well as to accelerate the transformation of their portfolios. Companies will adapt to a hybrid operating reality: connectivity, collaboration and “hybrid” workplace ecosystems. Health and wellbeing are set to be the number one investment priority for corporate real estate over the medium term and this will impact design, amenities and services offered in the workplace. Innovation is likely to reshape the workplace norm. 

The short-term will still be characterised by a climate of uncertainty, but with a very positive and solid starting from 2022. The current crisis must become an opportunity to rethink and reimagine the entire real estate industry. The real estate can become a driver of development, bringing innovation and strategic visions, contributing to the design of the future of the economy and society. We are witnessing structural changes in demand, new ways of living and working, new more hybrid real estate uses within the same building and new ways of defining the value of buildings based on the ability to guarantee health and well-being. Buildings and spaces are perceived as an ecosystem. The asset is not an “object” in its own right, but a “square”: inclusive, open and integrated within the city.

Capital available for deployment into real estate is near all-time highs and the Italian market remains attractively priced compared to bonds and to the other main European countries. The key ECB interest rates are forecasted to remain at their present level in 2021 sustaining the market. Secondary markets, alternatives sectors and Recovery Plan will be fundamental to sustain the growth of the Italian real estate market. PNRR (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza, i.e. National Recovery and Resilience Plan) is a unique opportunity to simplify PA relations, invest in tourist infrastructure, urban regeneration, logistics and green with a long-term strategy and attract investments that could act as a multiplier.