Why those waiting for a return to normal in commercial real estate will get left behind

Nathalie Palladitcheff gets asked all the time when things will get “back to normal” in the commercial real estate world, but the chief executive of Ivanhoé Cambridge thinks the premise of the question is flawed.

“I would not expect that being back to normal would be really good news,” Palladitcheff said in a December interview. “I really think that we will have to adapt ourselves and adjust ourselves and find new solutions in this environment.”

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to hybrid work are still rippling through the real estate markets. Demand for residential and industrial space has shot up while offices and shopping centres have been slower to recover.

Palladitcheff, who was recently appointed as chair of the Real Property Association of Canada (REALPAC), the main industry group representing the country’s commercial real estate giants, said she tells her team that waiting for that recovery is not an option.