Igor Mazepa: suburban real estate remains a premium despite the coronavirus crisis

Igor Mazepa, an investment banker, CEO and founder of Concorde Capital investment company, comments on the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the real estate sector and reasons of a rising demand for suburban real estate, taking GoodLife Park elite residence as an example.

“The coronavirus crisis is affecting all the sectors, with some shrinking quicker and some slower. At the same time, there are industries that have a chance to withstand the crisis and even strengthen their positions. In my opinion, these are segments that relate to the Internet, segments that build technological processes remotely”, says Igor Mazepa.

“Still, real estate is affected the most. We continue to observe the falling demand for apartments, for rent of office and retail spaces. After the lockdown is lifted, 60-70% of employees will return to their offices. The management of many companies has seen that employees can telework effectively. Accordingly, the office rent expenses will be cut’, comments Igor Mazepa.
“Shopping malls and entertainment centres have also suffered from the downturn triggered by COVID-19. Despite that they have reopened recently, I still doubt whether their visitors will come back. During the lockdown, people have developed a habit of being careful about what is happening around them, it has become the norm to keep distance. Moreover, many people have started to buy everything online, from groceries to household appliances. Entertainment is accessible online as well. Is it the end of physical retail? We'll see...”, says Igor Mazepa.
“At the same time, the demand for suburban real estate persists or even grows. I can state it, looking at the demand for country houses in GoodLife Park. (This is an elite cottage community in Vyshgorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast, an investment project of Igor Mazepa. For more, please go to https://goodlifepark.ua/). Rental rates are growing in this segment, and so are the prices for suburban real estate. I think this trend will continue in future. I suppose that deurbanisation is a major reason for this. It encourages people to buy private houses with a well-developed community infrastructure”, summmerizes Igor Mazepa.