All Comment articles – Page 7
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Insight
YardLink’s Neeral Shah on ensuring a thriving commercial construction sector
In June, the level of residential construction work fell for six months in a row at its fastest rate since May 2020. High mortgage rates, which hit their highest peak in 15 years this July, have put more pressure on the housing market.
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Insight
Profusion’s Natalie Cramp on why firms need to do more to build data capabilities
We recently tested 300 business leaders with at least a decade of experience in their respective fields on their understanding of data. The purpose was to assess how well decision-makers grasp data analysis and whether they were fully equipped to make data-driven decisions for their company. The results were not ...
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Insight
Oxford Economics’ Mark Unsworth on higher-for-longer inflation
UK inflation has fallen steadily from the highs reached last autumn. As of July, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure stood at 6.8%, down from a peak of 11.1% in October 2022.
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Insight
British Land’s David Walker on getting ESG right
For most industries, environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices are now undoubtedly an imperative – but for property, getting it right represents a clear business opportunity.
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News
Good, cheap and fresh: pick any two
The irony of being probed for anti-competitive practices in the midst of a transparently difficult year will not bring much comfort to the major housebuilders.
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Insight
Ignore the potential of new technology at your peril
Editor: I echo the enthusiasm expressed in your recent interview piece, ‘Covid’s legacy isn’t the end of offices’. I would like to suggest another key factor to consider: the strategic deployment of technology.
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Insight
The Emperor strikes back
“Some merchants are always eager to turn a profit. Therefore, we decree that the benefit of low prices is not hindered while greed, checked in advance, is restrained.” Not the words of left-wingers calling for price controls, but those of Emperor Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices in 301AD. He failed; ...
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Insight
Regal London’s Ghislaine Halpenny on why reinforcing supply chains is key to social impact strategies
Much like the Inuit are reputed to have 50 words for ‘snow’, so too does real estate often have a blizzard of terms that mean broadly the same thing – particularly when it comes to the relationships between us.
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Insight
LGIM’s Bill Hughes on whether the built environment can be a force for good
We, the real estate industry, have reached an inflection point – one where our approach to environmental and social factors can ensure that the built environment becomes a force for good.
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Insight
Get Living’s Ailish Christian-West on the role of belonging
Plenty of column inches across the property press have been taken up with talk of environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments over the past few years. And for good reason – our industry is fundamental to the economic, social and environmental prosperity of the nation.
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Insight
Runway East’s Natasha Guerra and Boodle Hatfield’s David Rawlence on B Corp office providers
At a time when environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials and aspirations are being heavily scrutinised, achieving B Corp status is a useful differentiator and quantifier to cut through the noise, but should landlords care if their serviced office providers have this rubber stamp accreditation?
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Insight
Ramboll’s Martin Bissell on how technology can save stranded assets
The built environment is the second-largest source of carbon emissions in the UK after surface transport, and as such, it is of paramount importance that we take action to decarbonise buildings to meet net zero targets.
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Insight
Berkeley Research Group’s Ian Mackie on the contentious issue of valuing commercial properties
In a bid to strengthen oversight of, and increase confidence in, commercial property valuations, RICS has been looking to implement various changes to the profession, following the recommendations set out by Peter Pereira-Gray in his Independent Review of Real Estate Investment Valuations, published in January 2022.
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Insight
Fleet Street Quarter’s Lady Lucy French on curating post-Covid mixed-use destinations
A dawn of a new day is being witnessed as perceptions of city centres have dramatically shifted, triggering a need to reshape and reinvent urban centres in a post-pandemic world.
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News
Carter Jonas’s Katherine Jones on the Oxford-Cambridge Arc: a revitalised vision or ruin?
An arch is one of the most enduring structures within architecture, and has a unique ability to link two separate elements with strength and beauty. The Oxford-Cambridge Arc, conceived before the pandemic and political uncertainty disrupted planning and development, was intended to create a strong link between the cities of ...
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News
Instant Group’s Lucinda Pullinger on how macroeconomic forces are changing real estate
Nowhere is the impact of the pandemic more pronounced or more ongoing than in the real estate industry. Shifting office habits and ways of utilising space are by now a familiar tune. But add in the war in Ukraine, with its macroeconomic fallout, the growing urgency for climate action, financial ...
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News
Business for Health’s John Godfrey on housing policy’s role in ‘levelling up’ our health
At the heart of the government’s ‘levelling-up’ initiative is the belief that the country needs bold policies committed to improving the lives of all its citizens, rather than simply fuelling economic prosperity in concentrated bubbles.
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Insight
Logistics needs to reach a more diverse talent pool
Editor: The recent announcement that the Generation Logistics campaign, which aims to improve recruitment and retention in the logistics workforce, has secured another year of government funding is welcome news for the sector, where there remains a critical need to expand the labour pool.
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Insight
Green-belt narrative has to change
Editor: In PMQs late last month, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer claimed that housebuilding had “collapsed” – a sentiment felt by many in our industry. Indeed, the target of 300,000 new homes a year has not come close to being reached over the last decade.
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Insight
Grainger’s Helen Gordon on the importance of clarity
With housing likely to be a key focus of any election campaign, there have been several positive signs recently that both sides understand that supply is the fundamental issue and a driver of the housing crisis, which is encouraging.