Property Development During A Pandemic

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, the property industry has gone through uncertainty that many have never witnessed. However, beyond the initial shocks to the market in the pandemic’s early months, certain trends have started to emerge, buoyed mostly by an adapting market that will continue even in the face of the crisis. Some of the changes underway may define how investors, property developers and agents work for years to come.  

While short term concerns dominated the industry early on, property developers such as Zuneth Sattar are keen to see how the industry’s future plays out. Indeed, challenges caused by the pandemic’s economic impact remain, but COVID-19 has also stirred up opportunities and avenues for developers to adjust. 

Community Living 

Lockdown measures affected how people view their living spaces, especially since many were required to stay home longer than anticipated. This change has come when growth in flexible living arrangements has been witnessed, occasioned by more people’s desire to feel part of a community while retaining their personal space. As such, co-living and co-housing developments have sprouted in many areas, with these being quite different from the conventional flats that many property developers may be used to constructing.  

Among the biggest selling points with these new living spaces is access to the outdoors, a necessity for good wellbeing during the pandemic. For developers, the challenge is to consider how to include and provide communal outside space that helps bring people together while allowing them to maintain their private space in a post-COVID world.  

Housing Development Numbers: 2020

Proptech Becoming a Mainstay 

The real estate industry has not been among the frontrunners for adopting new technology. However, COVID-19 provided opportunities for proptech (property technology) to play a role. While some of the solutions offered may have initially been viewed as short-term fixes, the lack of a clear finish line for the pandemic means that some tech may become a mainstay in the property industry. Indeed, it is one thing for video conferencing to substitute a home viewing, and quite another for virtual tools and drone-supported imagery to promote a company’s portfolio. 

For the industry, proptech may be the solution that changes how people rent, buy, sell, invest, develop, and manage residential and commercial property. Technology will maintain a strong momentum throughout the pandemic, especially if it helps different players, including property developers, save crucial resources. 

Prioritise Development 

Due to the coronavirus, the government’s housing target of supplying 300,000 annually by the mid-2020s might not be achievable. What this means is that as economic activity increases post-COVID, property development will be crucial.  

Cities and towns across the country will require sustained development, not only to maintain confidence in the property sector but also as a way of boosting economic activity within regions. Local councils have much work to do, such as encouraging pre-planning discussions, facilitating planning applications, and concluding the necessary legal arrangements for projects that will help spur growth.  

For many of these councils, maintaining property investment and development is a key pillar for long-term recovery.  

Managing Real Estate in a Pandemic

Is Change Coming? 

In the short to medium-term, significant changes to housing may not fully materialise. Property developments take significant time to complete, with any seismic changes determined by a host of factors including land availability, confidence in return on investment, planning policy and prices.  

Investors and developers will stick to what is familiar and has a track record of returns, which is reasonable considering the post-pandemic anxiety that economies will have to navigate before finding stability. If there are any changes, these will likely be incremental.  

However, innovative developers have a role in taking the lead and pushing for better end user experiences through improved developments.