- What The organization is holding its annual convention outside the U.S. for the first time in 20 years
- Why Some 1,400 attendees are gathering in Vancouver
- What next For the next three days, attendees will partake in deal making and networking
Against the backdrop of market uncertainty in Canada and the U.S., the Commercial Real Estate Women Network’s convention kicked off in Vancouver on Wednesday.
CREW Network brings together women in the commercial real estate industry, and this year’s event, at the Vancouver Convention Centre, is the first outside of the U.S. in 20 years. About 1,400 attendees are expected.
But as the networking got underway, concerns about challenges still facing the real estate market were top of mind for participants.
Valerie Taylor, vice president and national cannabis practice leader for the Liberty Co. Insurance Brokers, said increasing insurance rates for property owners are presenting some challenges for property market activity.
“The property market is extremely tough right now, so everyone, unless you live under a rock, is seeing increases in getting insurance in place,” she said, adding that events such as wildfires, floods and hurricanes have hardened the market.
Taylor said she’s seen insurance increases as high as 40% on many policies. Trying to “put together the pieces” for clients is a challenge but enjoyable, she added.
Sonia Sharma, a general property manager with Hines from East Bay, Calif., said the challenges from recent years still loom over the industry.
As larger companies strategize, a lot of money has been put on hold, she said.
“We’re still recovering from Covid, we’re still struggling to bring people back into the physical spaces that we helped build and also manage,” Sharma said. “Everybody’s in a holding pattern, and that holding pattern’s probably not going to change in the next year or so.”
But, she said, “wheels are turning” and projects that have been on hold are now starting to be looked at again.
Meanwhile, it isn’t a struggle for everyone. Elena Cutshall, an Austin-based director of the workplace interiors studio at architecture and interior design firm Gensler, said the conditions have created opportunities for smaller companies that can pick up office space previously beyond their reach.
Some are moving to new spaces in a “flight to quality,” Cutshall said.
Those moves are keeping interior designers busy, she said. At the same time, office owners are trying to entice workers back with new designs.
“We’ve realized now there’s a lot more that goes into the design process ahead of starting the design,” she said. “A shiny conference room isn’t going to bring people back. A purposeful workplace will.”
She added that the increase in office to residential space amid a slow return to pre-Covid office-occupancy rates is also creating opportunities for the design industry.
This year’s CREW Network convention comes in a year the organization experienced substantial growth, adding six new chapters and one new global affiliate in Ireland.
As of this year, 10% of the organization’s membership is in Canada.
