Real estate reborn

Posted:

6 / 11 / 2025

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Building against pink background

With uncertainty comes opportunity, and plenty of it in the case of the US. Against a backdrop of socio-political turbulence, the real estate industry has been battling continued headwinds with return to office numbers lagging expectations and restrictive monetary policies further increasing the pressure on landlords and developers.

This hostile environment has seen the majority of investors take a more risk-averse, defensive stance, looking to reduce costs where possible rather than committing capex to anything other than what is mission critical in the short term.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

2025 is poised to bring about a shift in sentiment and with it, longed-for market recovery. From a technological perspective renewed confidence in the market outlook will support increased budgets. In last year’s Deloitte survey, nearly 40% of respondents anticipated reducing spending, but this year, only 7% indicated plans for additional cost-cutting measures.

Building against green background

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

2025 is poised to bring about a shift in sentiment and with it, longed-for market recovery. From a technological perspective renewed confidence in the market outlook will support increased budgets. In last year’s Deloitte survey, nearly 40% of respondents anticipated reducing spending, but this year, only 7% indicated plans for additional cost-cutting measures.

On a practical level, this renewed confidence in tech expenditure is set to be a catalyst for change when it comes to tech-backed improvements that occupiers will actually care about. One thing we are seeing landlords pay more attention to is creating amenity-rich spaces that support the attraction and retention of occupiers, whilst also boosting in-office productivity.

While the implementation of amenities is not necessarily a new phenomenon, the quality of them is what is enabling landlords to stand out. Now, we can expect to see things such as smart tech gym equipment, the integration of wearable tech with building systems, virtual wayfinding around the building, employee experience apps and personalised workstations which are tailored to the individual.

One such example of this is Skanska’s 17xM building in Washington D.C. The building app, which has been created specifically for occupiers, enables users to make the most of the building’s amenities, order from local food and beverage outlets, book hotels and see what’s on in the local community. Skanska’s focus on delivering a high-quality tenant experience helped them lease 50% of the building and attract an anchor tenant prior to breaking ground in November 2021.

One such example of this is Skanska’s 17xM building in Washington D.C. The building app, which has been created specifically for occupiers, enables users to make the most of the building’s amenities, order from local food and beverage outlets, book hotels and see what’s on in the local community. Skanska’s focus on delivering a high-quality tenant experience helped them lease 50% of the building and attract an anchor tenant prior to breaking ground in November 2021.

In order to make these enhanced features available, landlords need to ensure that they are getting the tech fundamentals of their building right. Appropriate levels of mobile data coverage, sufficient internet capacity and also the collection and optimization of data are all basic requirements that form the backbone of a building able to provide this standard of amenity.

By focusing on what people really want out of a building and using technology to support this, landlords will be able to start differentiating their spaces, giving them a better identity to prosper in these opportunistic times.

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