Consumer Needs, Aging Baby Boomers, Covid Drive US Real Estate Trends

By Michael J. Acton, CFA®

Top Trends Across US Real Estate Sectors

Shifting consumer preferences and demographics are driving demand and opportunities in certain property sectors

AEW Research Director Mike Acton, CFA® shares insights on evolving trends in US real estate property sectors resulting from shifting consumer preferences, demographics, and, of course, Covid-19. Highlights of Mike’s discussion:

  • Baby Boomers are moving toward life stages that require more assistance in daily living and appropriate housing solutions. A demographic wave is coming for senior housing. Such needs are exacerbated by falling birth rates, which means fewer adult children to care for aging parents.
  • Over the past ten years consumers have expressed an increasing demand for fresh food. Add to this consumers’ pandemic-related comfort with online grocery purchases – a potentially permanent trend – and we see increased need for refrigerated warehouses, or cold storage.
  • An aging population means increasing medical needs for aging Americans. Healthcare providers are responding by building offices away from huge downtown medical complexes, and closer to where their patients live, offering increased convenience for their patients.
  • The rapid growth of life science research is driving the need for appropriate property space for such activities. As lab space has specific safety and climate requirements, it is not easily adaptive to work from home or other alternative locations. This trend is driven further by the boost that Covid-related research added to this activity, not to mention heightened pursuits in private equity and venture capital in the life sciences.
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