2022 Global Predictions Whitepaper
January 2022
Introduction In the past year, more than nine billion doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered, in at least 197 countries worldwide according to the BBC and Oxford University. While scientists, researchers, and physicians demonstrated noteworthy progress in responding to the considerable health challenges posed by COVID-19, the virus continued to impact every corner of the planet. In turn, the global economy and space markets demonstrated uneven signs of recovery. While select countries such as the United States were able to ultimately regain pre-pandemic economic activity, questions abound on the implications for some of the hardest-hit property sectors worldwide such as hospitality. Demand for warehouses boomed while office leasing and occupancy remained bumpy. While 2022 seems to offer fresh promises on the long road towards a higher degree of “normalcy” given the availability of agile vaccines as well as emerging therapeutics, setbacks are inevitable in further loosening the pandemic’s grip on cross-border economic activity. Indeed, at the time of this whitepaper’s release, early details are emerging regarding the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Even as many nations have demonstrated increased confidence in opening borders to international travelers, recent events suggest political leaders are willing to act rapidly to reimpose restrictions in the face of actual health scares. Others, such as China continue to maintain tight border controls and domestic restrictions under its “zero-COVID” policies. Nevertheless, while there are downside risks to the following 2022 predictions, it’s reasonable to assume that many countries and municipalities with high levels of vaccination and controlled COVID-19 positivity rates should ultimately continue to demonstrate a renewed desire to cautiously ease constraints as the next year fully unfolds. Beneficiaries of a more relaxed health framework include large, dense cities along with demand for in-person retail experiences and the return of office workers. New challenges have emerged, however, such as inflation and supply chain bottlenecks which present additional risks to a more sanguine outlook for 2022 especially as central banks adjust monetary policies. Given our global reach, we have assembled 28 key thought leaders across the globe from CoStar Group’s Advisory Services, Risk Analytics, Market Analytics, and STR to share 75 predictions for 2022. It is our expectation that this substantive whitepaper will enable readers to consider this comprehensive set of strategic commercial real estate predictions as a guide to opportunities and risks for the coming year.
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