Real Estate and Changing C-Suite Business Strategies

Not long ago, operational businesses considered their real estate a cost item. However, CBRE’s recent inaugural survey, “C-Suite Perspectives: Empowering Business Through Real Estate,” reported that many business leaders view “real estate as a strategic opportunity with latent potential to deliver value to businesses.”

The survey collected the views of more than 250 C-Suite leaders and revealed that:

• 94% of respondents see real estate as essential for achieving business objectives

• 50% of those participating indicated that real estate would become more important to core business objectives over the next three years

• 72% view their current real estate portfolios as positive contributors

• 76% want more influence or involvement in real estate decisions

The survey also reported that business leadership considers real estate a major strategic tool to achieve core objectives and that “main office-using sectors are far more likely to view real estate as highly important than manufacturing and distribution sectors.”

Additionally, the survey said that corporate real estate teams are being asked to support business resilience while monitoring cost management. Areas of increased importance when it comes to CRE activities include:

• Offering flexible spaces

• Measuring property portfolio performances

• Managing supply chain resilience

• Controlling real estate costs

• Optimizing real estate locations

Finally, C-Suite leadership wants certain things from their real estate portfolios, such as flexibility to adapt to changes, buildings and locations that attract talent and buildings that help with sustainability goals.