More than 300 industry experts, tenants and landlords have participated in a webinar hosted by CBRE Korea on Thursday to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the country's commercial property sector, with the market's "ample liquidity", a shift from overseas capital investment to the domestic commercial real estate market, and government economic stimulus programs among the main topics of discussion.

CBRE professionals in office, retail, logistics and investment sectors shared their knowledge and insight on the commercial real estate market in the first half of 2020 through presenting on various topics and inviting questions from participants.

At a glance:

• CBRE Korea has hosted a webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on the country's commercial market.
• The event had more than 300 participants and featured contributions from various CBRE representatives.
• The market's "ample liquidity", a shift from overseas capital investment to the domestic commercial real estate market, and government economic stimulus programs were among the main topics of discussion.

Research Director Claire Choi, who presented an update on the Korean commercial real estate market since the COVID-19 outbreak, said while CBRE expected the Korean economy to show negative growth this year because of COVID-19, the dip would be relatively small compared to the other major Asia-Pacific markets.

“The retail market, which is among the hardest-hit sectors, needs new strategies such as adopting online and omnichannel approaches," she said. 

"In the logistics market, a rapid increase in demand for fresh food will lead the expansion of cold chains.

A snapshot from the CBRE Korea webinar. Source: CBRE

"Steady demand for office relocation for efficiency and interest in higher space requirements and investment in remote technology is increasing in the office market.

"Considering the solid volume of transactions in H1 and the scale of assets that are expected to be completed in H2, the office market will show a similar trend as 2018, while logistics transactions are expected to continue to increase as a share of total transaction volume.”

The event included a Q&A session by John Yoon, Retail Director, Advisory & Transaction Services, CBRE Korea, on the crisis facing the retail market due to COVID-19 and response strategies.

There were also contributions from CBRE Advisory & Transaction Services Executive Director Andy Park, who spoked on changes in the workplace, and CBRE Korea Capital Markets Executive Director Sean Choi, who presented on the rapid increase in logistics supply and investment, the value of office investment as a safe asset, and expected investor responses to shrinking overseas investment markets.

CBRE Korea Managing Director Don Lim said the insights shared during the webinar were based on a "comprehensive" data analysis

"CBRE Korea will continue to do our best to provide top-notch service to customers using our extensive experience and in-depth knowledge during the post-COVID era," he said.

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