What makes an investable place?

Real estate returns have never been so polarised. This is perhaps most obvious when different asset classes are compared, but it is increasingly happening within asset classes too. For example, rental growth for prime Central London offices is increasingly outpacing the mainstream market, where values have flatlined. Similar patterns are observable in other sectors. As occupiers, employees and residents become more discerning after the pandemic, this trend is set to accelerate.

It is partly driven by spatial economics – the concentration of higher value-added work and skilled people in specific locations. Market factors, in particular the falling amount of new space in the property market as a whole, are crucial. The growing importance of less quantifiable and building-specific aspects of a development or investment are clear. This includes the look and feel of a place, experience it provides, how well connected it is, environmental impact, positive contribution to society and people’s health and wellbeing and much more are all becoming important to long-term performance.

The report explores all of these factors and brings in best-in-class examples from around the world to demonstrate how these elements come to life in practise.