As a result of the pandemic and the quarantines during the year 2020, remote work became widespread worldwide, causing a paradigm shift in the priorities of individuals and companies when choosing to work remotely.This led to a paradigm shift in the priorities of individuals and companies when choosing their living and working spaces. their living and working spacesThis change was addressed by Portalinmobiliario in its Housing and GPS Property reports..

According to data from Portalinmobiliario in its quarterly report, According to data from Portalinmobiliario in its quarterly report, advertisements for apartments for sale increased by 27.4%, while for the first quarterwhile for for rent increased by 53%.. As for house advertisements, rentals fell by 16.4% and sales by 44.4%, for rent fell by 16.4% and for sale by 44.9% .. This phenomenon is mainly due to the fact that people are spending more time in their homes, ... they are beginning to give much more priority to the space available..

The search for more available space to the detriment of the location was also reflected in the demand for homes in communities in the Metropolitan Region. Metropolitan Region such as Buin, Cerrillos, Melipilla, Padre Hurtado, Peñaflor and Pudahuel, where the number of the number of listings increased by more than 100% in one year, while in communes such as Santiagowhile communes such as Santiago, Independencia and Quinta Normal had drops with respect to 2019.

The effects of lock-in and the forced transition to remote work during the pandemic years also caused companies to have to adapt to the contingency. during the pandemic years also meant that companies had to adapt to the contingency, which in many cases resulted in savings for them in terms of office floor rents. savings for them in terms of office space leases and investment in this type of product. and investment in this type of product, which at the same time created a major problem for office projects.

At the beginning of 2020, the A+/A office vacancy rate was 6.07%, a figure that would rise to 64% by the beginning of 2021. in the Apoquindo Oriente sector. With respect to Ciudad Empresarial, it would reach vacancy levels of 19.8%, according to the real estate consulting firm GPS Property, levels that forced sales and leasing prices to drop.

The pandemic shifted many paradigms about the real estate status quo that had been in place until 2019, presenting new challenges for developers and landowners to adapt to the new needs of consumers. To date, we are emerging from quarantines and returning to normalcy, which leaves a slightly more certain picture within the uncertain. We will see how it behaves in the future..

Fernando Galaz

AGF Team