Around 57% of respondents expect costs of financing to worsen this year, while 58% have a negative outlook regarding the capital availability.

However, 44% of participants (both globally and in Europe) expect to do more/ M&A deals this year, mainly to diversify their asset portfolio and to add new technology capabilities. 

On  ESG 54% of respondents in Europe said they lack the data, process, and internal controls necessary to meet compliance standards.

"The global economic transformations involve considerable financial efforts from real estate companies in at least two major directions. One of them is related to regulations aimed at meeting sustainability standards, which are evolving rapidly, both globally and in Europe, so the investment in compliance is becoming a priority. The European legislation also applies in Romania, and, for this reason, we expect players operating on the local market to face additional requirements from national authorities related to ESG compliance, including in the processes of issuing permits or building authorizations,” said Irina Dimitriu, Partner at Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal, and Real Estate Industry Leader at Deloitte Romania.

“The other direction to follow is the one aimed at adopting innovative technologies in order to develop smart buildings, but also to implement solutions to help real estate companies become more effective, such as property management digital solutions and legal requirements compliance tools for real estate portfolios (including permits and authorizations procedures)," she added.

The survey also included a section on investment opportunities. Thus, assets associated with the digital economy are considered the most attractive this year, dethroning central office spaces (which come tenth globally), followed by building-to-rent and senior care centres.
The study was conducted among 750 commercial real estate companies with assets of over $50 million each, across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.