SA real estate investment trusts were the year's worst-performing asset class on the JSE, and over the past year the bourse’s listed property index has lost half its value. Office occupancy was already down year on year at the end of Q1 2020. With the onset of the pandemic and the sudden shift from offices to home, workers were quick to adapt to tech-enabled daily communication and connection.
Covid worsened an already tumultuous market. The property sector has been slower than most to adopt digital transformation that has left it — and its commercial arm especially — exposed and vulnerable. Just as financial technologies improve through automation the delivery and use of financial services, so proptech is improving the way the property sector engages with its customers. Business performance specialist Bernard Marr said it best in Forbes earlier this year: “PropTech is booming and changing the way we buy, sell, and interact with our properties.”
We know some companies — large and small — are vacating their offices permanently, opting for a full remote office experience. Others are working on a staff rotation system, leaving them with many square metres of unused space. Others still want a place for colleagues to meet and collaborate and invest in corporate culture, which creates an environment that spurs creativity and productivity. The problem is that permanent offices are expensive and risky in uncertain times.