REPORT2023

CommercialReal

Estate

&Leasing

Trend

ReportShifting

Real

Estate

Prioritiesin

Today’s

Business

Climate1ContentsExecutiveSummary352023CommercialRealEstateAnalysisHowLeaseControlsCanEmpowerYoutoOptimizeYourLeasePortfolioALessonLearned:It’sTimeforRealEstateandFinanceDepartmentstoLockArms9112023CommercialRealEstate&TrendReport:ShiftingRealEstatePrioritiesinToday’sBusinessClimate2Executive

SummaryToday,corporaterealestateplanningismorecomplicatedthanever.Businessesacrossallindustriesareincash-conservationmode,lookingtocutcostsandremainagileinresponsetothecurrenteconomicclimate.In

fact,

88%

of

companies

are

now

planning

for

physical

space

needs

just

one

year

(or

less)

inadvance,

which

is

a

151%

increase

from

2022*.1Amidst

this

shift,

businesses

are

simultaneously

grappling

with

ongoing

lease

accounting

and

management

challenges.Nearly

three-quarters

(71%)

of71%private

companies

arenotentirelycon?denttheyknowhowmuchtheirleasescosttheirbusiness.(2022LeaseMarketAnalysis)Whyisthislackofvisibilitysuchanissue?45%

of

senior

Real

EstateExecutives

sharethattheircompanieshaveoverpaidrentorexpensesduetoinadequateleasecontrols.45%Considerthis:mostbusinessesareacutelyawareofwhatthey’respendingintermsofpeople-relatedcosts(payroll,bene?ts,paidtimeo?,etc.),asthisistypicallythelargestexpenselineitemintheirbudgets.Theyhaveamplesystemsandprocessesinplacetogateandreportontheirpersonnelexpense,aswellasthereturnoninvestment.Unfortunately,companiesdo

notplacethesamerigorandcontrolsaroundthemanagementoftheirleaseportfolios,whichissurprisinggivenleasesareusuallyabusiness’ssecond-largestexpense.Thisknowledgegapisattributedtothefactthat

83%

of

senior

Real

EstateExecutives

report

that

their

companies

are

notprioritizing

investing

in

the

dedicated

technology,people

and

processes

required

to

successfullymanage

their

lease-related

expenses

as

muchas

they

should

be.32023CommercialRealEstate&TrendReport:ShiftingRealEstatePrioritiesinToday’sBusinessClimateThisisproblematicbecausewithouttherightlevelofvisibilityintothetermsofthesedynamicagreements,leaseportfoliosbecomevolatile,riskybusinessassets–

especiallyinthewakeofthenewleaseaccountingstandards(ASC842,GASB87andIFRS16),whichrequirecompaniestokeeptrackofallchangestotheirleasestoaccuratelyreportthemonthebalancesheetwithinaudits.In

this

report,

industryexpertsfromVisualLeaseandotherorganizationssuchasToshibaAmericaBusinessSolutions,AmericanAxleandManufacturingandHomeServicesofAmericawillbreakdown:ThetermsorganizationsareprioritizinginnewleasesHowthepost-pandemiceconomyandworkplaceareimpactingcorporaterealestatedecisionsTherepercussionsofpoorleasemanagementHowEnvironmental,SocialandGovernance(ESG)prioritiesarein?uencingcorporaterealestatedecisionsThebene?tsofoptimizingaleaseportfoliotoidentifytherisksandopportunitieswithintheinvestments2023CommercialRealEstate&TrendReport:ShiftingRealEstatePrioritiesinToday’sBusinessClimate42023

Commercial

Real

Estate

AnalysisIn2023,businessesarefacinga

rangeofuniquechallengesandcircumstancesincludinga

changingeconomy,theripple

e?ectofdigitaltransformation,theevolutionoftheworkplaceandtheloomingpressurestoadoptEnvironmental,SocialandGovernance(ESG)initiatives.Toaddressthesecompetingpriorities,companiesaretakinga

closerlookattheirrealestateneedsandexistingleasestoidentifypotentialgapsandopportunitiestosavetimeandmoney.Asa

result,

the

following

trends

have

emerged:1Companies

are

still

leasing,

but

are

prioritizing

their

abilityto

remain

agile.Inthemidstofeconomicuncertainty,andina

post-pandemicworkplace,businesseswanttobe

certainthattheirleaseswillallowthemtomakequickdecisionsandadjustmentswhenneeded.Today,

70%

of

senior

Real

EstateExecutives

claimtheircompaniesare71%70%lookingtoaddspaceasa

partoftheirrealestatestrategyfor2023.Thisisonparwith?ndingsfromlastyear’ssurvey,where71%

of

seniorAccounting

and

Finance

professionalsreportedthattheircompanieswerelookingtoaddspaceasa

partoftheircompany’srealestatestrategyfor2022.20222023However,

88%

of

senior

Real

Estate

Executives

share

that

their

companies

are

planning

for

their

physicalspace

needs

just

one

year

(or

less)

in

advance,

which

is

a

151%

increase

from

the

previous

year*.Inlookinga

yearout,organizationsareprotectingtheirabilitytopivotshouldanyunforeseencircumstancesarise,a

lessonlearnedfromtheCOVID-19pandemic.2023CommercialRealEstate&TrendReport:ShiftingRealEstatePrioritiesinToday’sBusinessClimate552addingnewsatellitelocations70Whilea

largepercentageofcompanies(70%)

arelookingtoexpandtheirrealestatefootprintsbyaddingnewsatellitelocations(52%)

andrelocatingexistingspaces(40%),

59%

ofthosesamecompaniesarealsolookingforwaystoremovespacebyclosing(40%)

anddownsizing

(28%)

existinglocations.addingspace40relocatingexistingspacesThisbehaviorsuggeststhatasorganizationsterminateoldleasesandenterintonewagreements,they’reseekingarrangementsthatsupportnewwaysofworking.4059closingexistinglocationsremovingspace28downsizingexistingspacesInadditiontoprioritizing?exibility,businessesareerringonthesideofcaution,with71%

of

senior

Real

Estate

Executivesreporting

that

their

companies

are

extremely

likely

to

puto?

making

needed

upgrades

or

moving

facilities

in

thecoming

year

due

to

the

state

of

the

economy.Despitethefactthatbusinessesmaybe

hesitanttoenterintonewrealestateagreements,99%

of

senior

Real

EstateExecutives

say

that

their

companies

are

likely

to

increasetheir

equipment

leases

to

maintain

operations,

whichmightbedrivenbytheequipmentneedsoforganizationswithdistributedworkforces.Thisshifthighlightsjusthowmuchthequintessentialworkspacehaschangedsincethepandemic,andasa

result,howcompaniesarerecognizingleasingasa

waytostay?exibleandevolvetheirbusinesses.62023CommercialRealEstate&TrendReport:ShiftingRealEstatePrioritiesinToday’sBusinessClimate2Leasing

plans

showcase

the

priorities

of

a

new

workforce.Thisshifttosatellitelocationsisindicativeofa

largertrendinwhichcompanieshavereimaginedtheworkplace.Hybridworkarrangements,fullyremotehiresandsharedworkspacesareheretostayasprofessionalsacrossallindustriesvalue?exibilityjustasmuchasthebusinessestheyworkfordo.Infact,lastyear,38%

of

senior

Accounting

and

Finance38%professionals

reportedthatshareddesks/of?cesbookedasneededcreatedthebestof?ceworkingenvironmentfortheircompanies.Thisyear,46%

of

senior

Real

Estate

Executives

reportthatshared46%desks/of?cesbookedasneededcreatedthebestof?ceworkingenvironmentfortheircompanies.Additionally,seniorRealEstateExecutivesidentifytheabilitytosublease,communalbuildingamenitiesand?exibleleaseterminationastopfactorstonegotiateintofutureleasestosupporttoday’seconomicclimate–

allofwhichenableorganizationstocatertotheneedsoftheirworkforce,aswellasemergingbusinesspriorities.3Mismanaged

leases

are

costing

businesses

big

time.Historically,companieshaveoperatedunderthebeliefthatoncea

leasewassignedbyallparties,theprocesswascomplete.Thishasresultedinmostleaseportfoliosgoinglargelyoverlookedandundermanaged.Nearly

three-quarters

(71%)of

private

companies

arenotentirelycon?denttheyknowhowmuchtheirleasescosttheirbusiness.Infact,45%

of

senior

RealEstate

Executives

sharethattheircompanieshaveoverpaidrentorexpensesduetoinadequateleasecontrols.This

knowledge

gap

is

attributed

to

the

fact

that

83%

of

senior

Real

Estate

Executives

report

that

theircompanies

are

not

investing

in

the

dedicated

technology,

people

and

processes

required

to

successfullymanage

their

lease-related

expenses.

Thisisproblematicbecausewithouttherightlevelofvisibilityintothetermsoftheseagreements,companieswillinevitablyoverspend.2023CommercialRealEstate&TrendReport:ShiftingRealEstatePrioritiesinToday’sBusinessClimate74ESG

is

not

just

a

buzzword

–

it’s

already

impacting

realestate

decisions.Inadditiontoanticipatingtheongoingimpactsofthecurrenteconomy,businessesarecontemplatingtheirEnvironmental,SocialandGovernance(ESG)programs–

notonlytheinitiativestheyhaveorplantoputintoplace,butalso,howthey’llreportontheire?orts.ESGadoptionisbeingdrivenbyitsincreasinglycriticalroleintheperceptionofinternalandexternalstakeholders.AccordingtoMarsh&McLennan,organizationswiththehighestemployeesatisfactionhadESGscores14%higherthantheglobalaverage,likelyduetotheirstrongenvironmentalperformance.AndS&PGlobalfoundthat53%ofrevenuesofthe500largestUScompaniesand49%ofrevenuesofthe1,200largestglobalcompaniescomefrombusinessactivitiesthatsupportsustainabledevelopmentgoals.Whenexecutedcorrectly,a

company’sESGprogramcanhavestrongsocietaland?nancialhealthimpacts.99%

of

seniorThus,ESGprioritiesarehavinglargeimplicationsonhowcompaniesevaluateandenternewleaseagreements.However,theseExecutivesarefacingchallengesinbeingsuccessfulastheyarenotthoroughlyintegratedintotheESGreportingprocess.Real

Estate

Executivesbelieveitisimportantfortheircompany’sfutureleasestoreduceitscarbonfootprint.55%

of

senior

Real

Estate

Executives

havelittletonoinvolvementinESGreportingattheircompany.Thiscouldbe

a

bigissueasRealEstateteamsareprivytoallthedetailsfoundwithinanorganization’sleaseportfolio.Ifthisdataisn’tcompleteandaccurate,itwillnotonlyskew?nancialreportingandpotentiallyresultinfeesand?nes,butalso,preventtheabilityfororganizationstomakeinformeddecisionsonthisfront,aswellasimpedeinvestors’abilitytoevaluateanorganization’sESGdata.2023CommercialRealEstate&TrendReport:ShiftingRealEstatePrioritiesinToday’sBusinessClimate8How

Lease

Controls

Can

EmpowerYou

to

Optimize

Your

Lease

PortfolioForRealEstateteamstobe

abletoe?ectivelynegotiateleasesthataccommodateandanticipatetheircompany’sneeds,theyneedfullvisibilityintothedetailsoftheirexistingleases.Byunderstandingthegapsandopportunitieswithin,they’llmakebetterinformeddecisionsaboutwhatisrequiredoffutureleases.However,theabilitytooptimizea

company’sleaseportfoliohingesonthestrengthofitsleasescontrolsecosystem,whichencompassesthepolicies,procedures,standardsandprocessesthatmanagementhasestablishedwithintheorganization.Formany,there’ssubstantialroomforimprovementinthisregardandthepathtowardimplementingstrongleasecontrolsstartswithtechnologythatcane?ectivelyenforceyourorganization’spolicies.83%

of

senior

Real

Estate

Executivesbelievetheircompanyisnotprioritizinginvestmentsfordedicatedtechnology,peopleandprocessesneededtosuccessfullymanagetheirlease-relatedexpenses.Strongleasemanagementisn’tjusta

crucialpartofthepuzzlewhenitcomestoenteringintonewleases.100%of

senior

Real

Estate

Executives

believeitisimpossibletosustainleaseaccountingcompliance(e.g.,ASC842,IFRS16,GASB87)withoutproperleaseadministrationpracticesin

place.ThismutualneedfortheRealEstateteamsandFinanceteamspresentsa

uniqueopportunityforbothpartiestofurtherstrengthentheirworkingrelationshipasthere’sroomforimprovement.68%Senior

Real

Estate

Executives

donotbelievetheyarecurrentlyverycollaborativewiththeircompany’sFinanceteams.2023CommercialRealEstate&TrendReport:ShiftingRealEstatePrioritiesinToday’sBusinessClimate9Greatercollaborationcanbe

achievedwhena

companyalignsitsleasecontrolswithitsinternalsystems.Thiswillensuretherightlevelofpermissionandaccessareavailabletotheproperstakeholdersthroughouttheleasemanagementandreportinglifecycles,greatlyreducingtheriskoftheseorganizationshavinginaccurateorincompleteleasedata.Notonlywillhavingcleanleasedatafacilitateaccuratereporting,butitwillalsoempowerFinanceandRealEstateprofessionalstointegratetheirleasedatawithotherFinTechsystemstodrawvaluableinsightsfromtheirsystems.This

focus

on

lease

controls

will

provide

Real

Estate

and

Finance

teams

with

better

con?dencein

their

data,

as

well

as

visibility

into

the

insights

they

need

to

make

more

strategic

decisions

todrive

greater

e?ciency

and

e?ectiveness

while

also

reducing

costs

and

risk.Thisisa

hugeareaofopportunity,as90%

ofsenior

Real

Estate

Executives

donotbelievetheyhavefullaccesstothedatatheyneedtomakeaninformeddecisionabouttheircompany’sleaseportfolio.Byprioritizingtechnologythatenablesrobustleasecontrols,suchasVisualLease,a

companycansafeguarditsleaseportfolio-

anareaofthebusinessthatisheavilyinvestedin,andalso,exposedtoseveralteamsatanygivenpoint.Iftheyneglecttodo

so,they’llexposetheirorganizationtorisksincludingtheinabilitytorespondtochangingcircumstances,missingdeadlinesandoptions,miscalculatingleasecosts,missingincentivesandreimbursements,failinganauditandevenoverpayingandassumingresponsibilitiesthatbelongedwithyourlessor.After

I

open

my

email,

I

open

up

Visual

Lease.

That’s

oneof

the

?rst

things

I

get

into

on

a

daily

basis.

I

look

for

leasedetails,

evaluate

facilities,

plan

for

space

and

conductmarket

research.

We

go

in

depth

on

every

single

transaction.All

of

the

data

we

use

to

make

those

business

decisionscomes

from

Visual

Lease.LEE

EBAUGHDirectorofRealEstateandBusinessContinuity

22002233CCoommmmeerrcciiaallRReeaallEEssttaattee&&TTrreennddRReeppoorrtt::SShhiiffttiinngg

RReeaall

EEssttaattee

PPrriioorriittiieess

iinn

TTooddaayy’’ss

BBuussiinneessss

CClliimmaattee10A

Lesson

Learned:

It’s

Time

for

Real

Estate

&Finance

Departments

to

Lock

ArmsInadditiontotheRealEstateteamswhohandlesourcing,executingonandmanagingleases,Financeteamsarealsoheavilyinvolvedintheaccountingandreportingofthesehigh-stakesbusinessassets.Withtoday’sbusinesschallengesinmind,it’sevidentthatFinanceandRealEstateteamshaveneverbeenundermorepressure–

inadditiontoperformingtheirusualday-to-dayactivities,they’rebeingtaskedwithaddingevenmorestrategicvaluetotheircompanies,andlikelywithfewerresources.Beyondensuringcompaniesstaywithinbudget,?nancialprofessionalsarebeingtaskedwithidentifyingopportunitiesforsavings.Senior

Real

Estate

Executives

were

asked

to

rank

the

following

expenses

by

howmuch

of

a

concern

they

are

when

entering

into

new

leases:33%24%23%22%2)CAM/operatingexpenses1)Rentobligations3)Utilities4)TaxesRealEstateteamsareexpectedtohelptheircompaniesenter?exibleleaseagreementsthatwillprovide

themwiththeagilityrequiredtorespondtochangingcircumstances.Bothfunctionalareasarealsofeelingthee?ectsofdigitaltransformationasthey’rerequiredtoquicklyadoptnewtechnologytohelpfacilitatedi?erentaspectsoftheirexpandedresponsibilities–

whilethistechnologyisessential,itcancreateadditionalstressanddelaysif

notproperlyevaluated,selectedandimplemented.2023CommercialRealEstate&TrendReport:ShiftingRealEstatePrioritiesinToday’sBusinessClimate11By

integrating

the

right

technology

that

supports

robust

lease

controls

into

its

tech

stack,

Finance

and

RealEstate

teams

can

?nally

lock

arms,

bene?tting

from:AccurateandcompleteleasedataCon?dent,sustainedleaseaccountingcomplianceClearlyde?nedrolesandresponsibilitiesStrongcommunicationandcollaborationAccesstouniqueinsightstoinformmorestrategicbusinessdecisionsBycomingtogether,thesetwofunctionalareaswillempowertheircompaniestoquicklypivot–

a

capabilitythatwasoftenlackingduringtheonsetofthepandemic,butonethatcanundoubtedlyhelpsustainorganizationsthroughanuncertaineconomy.Arianne

AultHerb

CohenDirector,Treasury&CapitalMarketsDirectorofCorporateServices,Treasury&RiskVisual

Lease

has

given

us

visibility

andreliable

reporting,

which

helps

us

withbudgeting

and

forecasting.

It

gives

usmore

intel.

We

track

lots

of

metrics

–so

we

can

see

high-level

informationand

then

go

into

the

weeds

to

makesound

decisions.Making

decisions

with

visibility

intothat

data

makes

you

feel

much

morecon?dent.

Our

CFO

looks

to

us

toadminister

the

software

and

train

ne