WHER Chat: Imperatives of the Commercial Real Estate Industry During COVID-19

 

In 2020 NAWRB WHER, Volume II: Real Estate, we explore how the real estate industry is navigating COVID-19 challenges and utilizing technology as a solution. The industry must accomplish crucial initiatives during the pandemic to ensure the commercial real estate sector’s sustainability and reliability in the future.

1. Earning the respect, trust, and loyalty of customers and employees: In this time of uncertainty, leading operators are learning the importance of communicating to the point of overcommunication to make sure they are fully understanding and attending to their tenants’ needs at this moment and helping to protect everyone in their ecosystem. This may make communication as a company-level brand, rather than a property-level brand, more common, thereby speeding up an existing market trend.

In B2B environments, such as offices and retail stores, CEOs, and management teams are finding it helpful to asset managers and property managers by engaging directly with tenants. By interacting with the tenants directly, they not only address their needs more efficiently but also create a more trusting relationship with tenants who feel like they are being heard and valued.

2. Centralizing cash management: Prior to COVID-19, the McKinsey report notes that real estate was highly decentralized as important decisions regarding cash flow were made at the property level. However, due to the duration and depth of this crisis, which seems to have no end in sight in the United States, top management is now taking the initiative of centralized direction on property-level cash management in addition to company-level balance-sheet decisions and credit lines. As stated by the report, “All levels of management—including those at the property level and company level—are beginning to identify efficiency levers and when to pull them based on the underlying performance of properties and the business as a whole.”

3. Making tailored and informed decisions: Even within a single asset, needs will vary among tenants, particularly in commercial lease concessions. Real estate leaders are utilizing available behavioral data to generate fact-based insights that can help them make more informed decisions tailored to the needs of their diverse tenants (rather than a “one-size-fits-all” decision approach). They have data on local epidemiological and economic scenarios, competitive assets around a property, and the impact of the crisis on individual tenants.

4. Taking the digital leap: As we mentioned earlier, professionals in residential real estate have already taken the leap in digital sales and leasing processes, such as using virtual open houses and showings (sometimes augmented and virtual reality), as well omnichannel, targeted, and personalized sales. All of these tools are also available to the commercial real estate market in allowing their prospective tenants to find the right space for themselves.

5. Rethinking the future of real estate: Some landlords and lenders in the commercial real estate sector are looking ahead and preparing for how a business will change after the crisis is over. However, professionals are broadening their resources to include psychologists, sociologists, futurists, and technologists in addition to traditional economic or customer-survey-driven approaches. Some of the questions real estate professionals will have to ask include: “Will employees demand larger and more enclosed workspaces? Will people decide not to live in condominiums for fear of having to ride elevators?” By extending their research to include interdisciplinary resources and experts, business leaders will possibly find creative, informed solutions to these unprecedented challenges facing the industry.

About 2020 NAWRB WHER

The NAWRB Women Housing Ecosystem Report (WHER), our annual research report, provides the vision to revitalize communication and partnerships between industries as we work together to form mindful strategic solutions for social impact with a gender lens achievement. The 2020 NAWRB WHER includes the most diverse coverage of the Housing Ecosystem with almost eighty resources in six volumes: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Real Estate; Business Ownership; STEM; Access to Capital; and Aging Population. While waiting for the release of 2020 WHER, order a copy of the 2019 NAWRB WHER here!

Women Veterans in Business: Unique Challenges and Opportunities

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Veterans are in the minority of the American workforce and female veterans are an even smaller subset of the population, however, the impact veterans and women veterans can make to society can be huge. This is a point made by NAWRB Magazine contributor and Army Veteran Erica Courtney as she moderated our panel Women Veterans in Business: Unique Challenges and Opportunities.

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Walking On The Glass Floor by Judy Hoberman

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Think about this…you’ve worked hard to get where you are. You are respected by your colleagues and maybe even envied by your friends. You have a great reputation and are known for your integrity, honesty and intelligence plus a whole lot more…and yet, deep down inside you have that “feeling” that sometimes you are…for lack of a better term, an imposter. You are putting on a great front on the outside and inside you have that internal conflict… am I enough? I’ve interviewed enough women to know that this is one of the missing pieces in the puzzle of leadership. This takes courage, and that it one of the seven unexpected qualities of women who lead.

It’s funny when the word leadership is mentioned, everyone thinks of the CEO of a large company with hundreds of people that you are responsible for. You can be a leader of 100, 10 or…even simply yourself. Leadership is about you and me and who we are in this position, and who we can be. Whether you are moving out of a dorm room or moving into an executive suite, you are already a leader. The goal is not to just invite you to be in that position, but to stay and let the magic happen.

Every day there is another woman who is standing out in her field, and making things happen, change, transform and create a better future of opportunities for the women coming through the ranks. The amazing part is that these women are younger and younger and have tools available to them that the women we call trailblazers didn’t have. They have platforms to speak on and mentors to question and yes, they are making a difference in our everyday lives. They are the future of women in leadership and their confidence in knowing that is something we admire.

There are seven qualities of leadership that I direct my readers, clients and colleagues to. You will likely recognize that many, if not all, are part of who you are. You may have pushed them down so they need some polish to put the shine back on and bring them up to the surface. We are reminded to find our voices, get a seat at the table, learn to negotiate and to support other women. Yes to all of those qualities, and let’s go one step further…or seven to be exact. Here are those qualities that just might be your hidden gems:
1. Passion
2. Authenticity
3. Courage
4. Communication
5. Decisiveness
6. Resilience
7. Generosity

Consider this your invitation to reconnect with these seven “unexpected” essential leadership qualities. As my tagline reminds us, “Women Want To Be Treated Equally Not Identically”™, let’s bring women onto the glass floor and not only walk, but dance together and create a movement to the future of women in leadership. In addition, we have created a non-profit foundation by the same name, where we will donate a portion of the proceeds of every book sold to companies, associations, charities, social causes and scholarships and plan to start a movement about women in leadership.
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Settling Up in Cincinnati, a Top City for Single Women Homebuyers

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June is National Homeownership Month. This article is part of an ongoing series focusing on different aspects of women’s homeownership.

 

Single Women Outpace Men in Homeownership

 

In our 2018 Women in the Housing and Ecosystem Report, we found women have outpaced single men in homeownership consistently since 1986. This trend has most likely sustained because the reasons women seek homeownership are powerful, both from an economic and an emotional standpoint.

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Attain Clear Skin in Spite of Your Allergies

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Since women in the housing economy are always on the go, they may not realize when their allergies are flaring and how it affects their skin. Traveling from house to house can spark allergies, making your skin look lackluster. However, there is help.

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Women’s Cancers: Helping Women Thrive During, and After Cancer Treatment

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ArtiHurria, M.D., director of City of Hope’s Cancer and Ag­ing Research Program and associate professor of medical oncology, is collaborating with researchers from across the country on several important projects. In one ongoing na­tionwide collaborative study with more than 15 institutions, and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Hurria is evaluating risk factors for toxicity in older women receiving cancer treatment.

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Work-Life Balance: Fulfill Your Passions

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Here at NAWRB, we know that success takes time and work.  Every step towards success should be celebrated. For women in the housing economy, we have shown you what is possible with our Inaugural Conference and the different avenues you can utilize to meet your goals. We have touched on the topic of balancing work with home life but we haven’t touched on the topic of having multiple jobs. Most fiction writers can’t survive on writing alone but this doesn’t stop them from writing books. This includes our very own, E.V. Fairfall who is the graphic designer here at NAWRB.

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Exercise: Tackle Your Busy Schedule With Renewed Energy

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Being a successful woman in the real estate industry means your days are most likely hectic and stressful. The last thing you probably want to do is go to the gym. If you can motivate yourself to go, you may end up on the treadmill the entire time because the weight area intimidates you and/or you’re scared to ask questions. Sure, you look and feel great in your designer power suit, but that feeling can quickly melt away once the suit comes off.

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A New Road to Revenue

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The housing industry can offer a flexible schedule, especially with real estate. With the ability to control your own schedule, you can maximize your flexibility while making extra money in the process. But how? Pet sitting is the easy answer. It can provide a great source of revenue in addition to being enjoyable.

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