THE PANDEMIC AND REAL ESTATE TRENDS IN DELAWARE Sean O’Neill, AICP Policy Scientist University of Delaware, IPA
[email protected] 04/23/2021 Agenda • Why Do Real Estate Trends Matter Now? • Findings from Interviews and Delaware Data • Findings from National Research • What Does It Mean For Local Governments in Delaware? 2 Why Do Real Estate Trends Matter Now? • Real Estate is the one of the largest employment sectors in the country and has a large impact on the economy, taxes, and how we live our lives • Fundamental changes in all sectors (pre-COVID) • Retail • Office • Industrial • Housing • The impact of the pandemic • A need to rethink land use management, and plan for changes moving forward 3 Approach to Research • Interviewed 15 real estate and land use professionals in Delaware • 11 using a question and answer form • 4 as podcasts • Identified data related to development trends dating back to 2018 in Delaware • Looked at national research to see how it relates to what is happening in Delaware 4 Major Findings • Retail • Online delivery services are cutting into the market and demand for space is declining • Office • Remote work is causing many office users to re-evaluate their leased space, and demand for space is declining • Residential • The for-sale market has been booming, in part because of the pandemic and the ability to work remotely • Multifamily has also been strong and demand continues to grow • Industrial • Warehouse distribution development is booming, and Delaware has become a more viable market for these sites 5 Interview Results - Retail • As people were in lockdown some habits changed, potentially permanently.