Technological advancements and shifting structural forces are redefining the future landscape of the commercial real estate sector, according to RICS. In its latest report: Commercial real estate - risks and opportunities, the RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor was used to draw on the expert opinions of 1,750 real estate professionals operating across the world.

In a series of extra questions included in the Q1 survey, respondents were asked to identify the most significant risks facing the commercial property sector, and also which areas of change are likely to have the greatest impact in the future.

The three big concerns
When viewed holistically across the globe, the results point to the familiar issue of geopolitical and economic uncertainty as the most significant market threat by those working in the sector, with the global financial crisis a clear illustration of the scale of disruption caused by a severe downturn.

RICS reported: “While global economic growth seems to be strengthening in a more widespread fashion than for some time, beneath the healthy near term outlook, reasons for caution are not difficult to find. The prospect of an imminent turning point in global monetary policy, for instance, poses perhaps the most substantial risk at present. Moreover, a further escalation in global tensions around trade policy could carry significant adverse effects for real estate capital flows.”