The year 2020 brought with it one of the greatest challenges faced by humanity in recent years; it could be argued that we have a history before and after COVID-19.
The news of a new disease that was relentless and that had erratic behaviors, led the world authorities to recommend the confinement of humanity in their own homes, closing educational, labor, recreational centers; all unimportant and even important economic activity suddenly stopped.
Derived from this situation, real estate markets considered highly stable in the past, such as the rental of space for offices, commerce, tourism or industries were immediately affected, initially with the downward negotiation of rental prices per square meter, until the vacancy that in some cases continues until today. Office-space rentals still show a slow recovery trend and an uncertain future in the short time.
Confinement gave entry to a labor figure called “Home Office”, which encouraged communication by virtual ways and suddenly went from being a good ” Corporate Idea” that could possibly be used as a work tool, to a reality that went beyond work and was established as an effective tool for the economy and education among other activities, cushioning their fall.
The real estate world was no stranger to this phenomenon and the cases of migration from cities with a high population index, were replaced by cities with a lower population index, rewarding mostly quality of life. Additionally, the new living conditions required greater private spaces per individual as well as large common spaces. Reduced spaces in large cities were abandoned throughout the pandemic for buildings with large spaces, high ventilation and hygiene in smaller cities that improved the quality of life.
The concept of a Digital Nomad (people who, according to the work they perform, may not have a physical space within an office) arose; these people now carry out their activities from a department in the Riviera Maya, or in acolonial house in a magical town in the Sierra Poblana, for example, as long as they find the availability of internet connectivity with the appropriate speed to perform their tasks efficiently.
Although we are far from obtaining solid local statistical data regarding the effectiveness of the Home Office, we can consider that it is a way of working that is here to stay and, in the near future, we will be able to live an evolution of the Home Office in a Post-pandemic context and a new real estate panorama will keep evolving.
By Jonathan Enríquez | Trevéx Inmobiliaria, Tijuana
