Ray White Commercial agents gathered on the Gold Coast for a day of learning at Connect 2022, focusing on key aspects of the commercial real estate industry. White and Partners’ James Hodgkinson interviewed DHL head of development Adam Davies on the biggest drivers of demand for industrial real estate."Demand is not going away any time soon.“
Ray White Commercial agents gathered on the Gold Coast for a day of learning at Connect 2022, with three breakout sessions focusing on key aspects of the commercial real estate industry.
The first session highlighted the impacts of the supply chain industry on the industrial market.
White and Partners’ James Hodgkinson interviewed DHL head of development Adam Davies on the biggest drivers of demand for industrial real estate.
“Demand is not going away any time soon. The investment is driven by sovereigns and private individuals. We’re seeing the ugly duckling, industrial, come to the surface as far as returns go,” Mr Davies said.
“There’s so many reasons demand isn't slowing down and a big reason is geopolitical issues and people are wanting to keep their products on shore.
“That warehousing demand has doubled overnight. People don't want to rely on China anymore, people want to be ready to go in supplying their products.”
To combat this demand Mr Davies said DHL would be focussing on the purchase of more land in strategic locations.
He said while they would normally add one of two buildings to their supply chain market per year, they had added four in the last 12 months, equating to approximately 100,000sqm.
The second breakout session was hosted by Macquarie Group national head of real estate, business banking, Dominic Thompson, who spoke about how to “rethink and redefine success across commercial property management”.
Mr Thompson said the four key aspects to focus on for a successful asset management business were strategy, execution, people and leadership.
He said the attraction and retention of staff was one of the key issues in commercial property management.
“Real estate businesses report attracting people as the most significant challenge with people, as well as competing on salary,” Mr Thompson said.
“Companies with the right culture outperform their counterparts.
“There is a link between your people and your customers. You need to focus on customer experience, but not at the expense of your people.
“Employee experience leads to employee engagement, which leads to a great customer experience, and customer engagement.”
Mr Thompson said some of the key ways to foster a positive culture was through creating psychological safety and shared vulnerability in the workplace.
Ray White Commercial head of agency operations closed out the day by updating the network on the 2023 ambitions and strategic direction.
Ray White Commercial saw more than 30 per cent growth in the past financial year, a trend which Mr Freeman said he hoped to see continue over the next 12 months.
Property management also saw huge success for Ray White Commercial with 1098 new managements, 10,280 overall.
In the 2021/22 financial year, Ray White Commercial increased its auction volume by 72.8 per cent, with auctions remaining a huge focus for the network in 2022/23.