BOMA International Deep Dives

Fasten your snorkel and get ready for an in-depth exploration of the issues important to today’s commercial real estate industry. BOMA International’s Deep Dive series offers the expert insights and context you need to navigate the ever-evolving commercial real estate landscape. Consider this your personal invitation to go beyond the surface and discover answers to questions you didn’t even know you had.

Read Now - In Search of the Employee-Centric Office  

With the Pandemic behind us, corporate occupiers must now battle hostile economic conditions and supply chain issues. The key to overcoming these issues may lie in the property managers and owners. BOMA International's latest Deep Dive takes a look at how the industry can achieve "employee-centric" offices. Read more here!


Past Excursions 

2024

Receiverships: A Primer

A recent Bloomberg survey revealed, "About two-thirds of the 919 respondents ... believe that the US office market will rebound only after a severe collapse. An even greater majority says that US commercial real estate prices won't hit bottom until the second half of 2024 or later." It seems that Receiverships are a growing but unfortunate fact of life in the office sector these days. But most owners and managers seem to be vague on their details. We talked through the ins and outs of this process with some experts, read along as we do a deep dive on what receiverships mean for the future of our industry.


2023

Success in Adaptive Reuse Demands Due Diligence (October 2023)

One thing is certain, the office sector is in a state of flux. The issue of office occupancy is a complex one to address. Even as COVID-19 fears continue to diminish, it promises to become yet more complicated. The tenant flight to quality is real and vetted, but at the same time, research suggests that Class C office spaces have weathered this storm the best. Read along as Deep Dive author John Salustri explores the realities facing the office market and the pros and cons of pursuing a conversion or flexible building use.

 

The Essentials: Elements of High-Performance Buildings - Part 2 (July 2023)

High performance in commercial assets is a complex and multifaceted undertaking, dependent on such considerations as goals, budgets and the project at hand. But at its core, performance is a study of systems and applications, of equipment and the maximization of their function. The higher aims of performance, such as the involvement and embrace of local community needs, while vital, follows. Our two part series goes in-depth on what makes a high-performance buildings worth pursuing and understanding. Part two of the series extensively covers ESG mandates and how high-performance buildings can help owners and managers meet these goals, in a variety of fashions.

 

High-Performance Buildings: More Than the Sum of Their Parts - Part 1 (June 2023)

High-performance buildings are greater than the sum of their parts. They are more than occupant comfort, safety and wellbeing. They are more than their mechanical systems and their operational efficiencies. But do a web search for high-performance buildings, and one's first impression might be that the topic begins and ends with decarbonization. In fact, the topic is much more nuanced and complex. Read more to discover just what makes high-performance buildings so crucial to the built environment.




2022

Something Phishy: How to Guard Against Cyberattacks (December 2022)

Blocking data breaches is as much or more of a challenge today than it was 15 years ago because more people are working from home now and cyber threat actors continue to thrive. For the commercial real estate industry, there are two paths to data corruption and loss, we learn in BOMA International’s latest Deep Dive, Something Phishy: How to Guard Against Cyberattacks.  Care to dive a little deeper? Check out this bonus video interview between John Salustri, the author of Something Phishy: How to Guard Against Cyberattacks, and three cybersecurity experts who contributed to this report.



Are We Heading Toward a Recession - and Is Commercial Real Estate Ready? (November 2022)

As interest rates continue to climb and predictions about an impending recession grow stronger, commercial real estate leaders are developing plans to withstand the economic downturn. The good news is economists, building owners and real estate analysts are predicting a shallow recession and a soft landing. Are We Heading Toward a Recession—and Is Commercial Real Estate Ready?, the fourth in our 2022 series of BOMA Deep Dives, highlights how we got to this point and key steps that can limit the potential recession’s impact on 2023 budgets, lease changes and capital planning. Care to dive a little deeper? Check out this bonus video interview between John Salustri, the author of Are We Heading Toward a Recession—and Is Commercial Real Estate Ready?, and three industry experts who contributed to this report.


A Time of Reinvention for Offices and Cities (August 2022)

Across the United States, employees are gradually returning to the office—and to downtowns—as employers increasingly embrace hybrid work schedules and property professionals seek ways to ensure their buildings are healthy, modern and inviting. A Time of Reinvention for Offices and Cities, the third in our 2022 series of BOMA Deep Dives, explores the role property professionals are taking in this time of major transformation and how commercial real estate is evolving during this latest stage of the pandemic recovery and beyond. Check out this bonus video interview between John Salustri, the author of A Time of Reinvention for Offices and Cities, and three industry experts who contributed to the piece.



The Industrial Sector: Taking Stock of Market Vitality (June 2022)

While the office market slowly regains its occupancy after more than two years of pandemic-induced havoc, industrial real estate has continued its decade-long upward trajectory. The Industrial Sector: Taking Stock of Market Vitality, the second in our 2022 series of BOMA Deep Dives, not only explores the opportunities ahead for this sector, but also the headwinds—chief among them the rapid overdrive of consumer demand for goods brought about by COVID-19 and a market that has struggled to keep up. Care to dive a little deeper? Check out this bonus video interview between John Salustri, the author of The Industrial Sector: Taking Stock of Market Vitality, and three industry experts who contributed to the piece.

 

Raising Talent in the Midst of the Great Resignation (February 2022)

As commercial real estate firms look to fill open positions quickly to support tenants in their quest to return to their offices, one thing is becoming clear: Hiring today is a very different undertaking than it once was. Raising Talent in the Midst of the Great Resignation, the first in our 2022 series of BOMA Deep Dives, explores the factors contributing to the industry’s severe talent shortage and new approaches for attracting and retaining top performers in this tight labor market. And check out the bonus video interview between the author of Deep Dive No. 1 and three industry experts who contributed to the piece.

2021

Deep Dive No. 7 (December 2021)

As we open the door to 2022, we seem fairly well armed against most surprises. For the past 18-plus months, we have navigated through a global pandemic and a variety of economic downturns of various depths and durations. With extreme caution we ask, what is there left to throw us off our game? To answer this question, we spoke to senior executives from some of the top commercial real estate companies. Looking to 2022: Property Professionals Accelerate on Their Positives, the seventh installment in our series of BOMA Deep Dives, explores what’s in store for the year ahead according  to the C-suite. And check out the bonus video interview between the author of Deep Dive No. 7 and two of the industry experts who contributed to BOMA Deep Dive No. 7: Piedmont Office Realty Trust’s Kevin Fossum and Zeller’s Steve Herron.

 

 

Deep Dive No. 6 (October 2021)

While it didn’t take long for much of the commercial real estate industry to experience the negative impacts of the pandemic, experts anticipate the journey back to normal will take some time. Until then, savvy property professionals with net operating income on their minds are finding new purposes for space left vacant over the past 18-plus months. Some are searching for temporary solutions, while others are looking to play the long game via adaptive reuse projects. Getting Creative With Vacant Spaces, the sixth installment in our series of BOMA Deep Dives, explores some of the conversions experts are seeing out in the field today, as well as the variety of factors driving this trend. And check out the bonus video interview between the author of Deep Dive No. 6 and two industry experts who contributed to this BOMA Deep Dive.

 

 

Read Now: Deep Dive No. 5 (August 2021)

Despite the challenges of the past year and a half, the healthcare real estate sector has proven itself as a resilient asset class. Looking ahead, medical office buildings will be expected to reflect a new era in health care delivery, informed by the trends accelerated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking the Pandemic Pulse of Healthcare Real Estate, the fifth installment in our series of BOMA Deep Dives, offers an overview of this sector’s performance amid disruption and identifies key considerations for both property professionals and tenants as they prepare for a future defined by factors like ease of access, flexibility and technology integration. After you read BOMA Deep Dive No. 5, be sure to watch this bonus video interview between the author of Taking the Pandemic Pulse of Healthcare Real Estate and two industry experts who contributed to this installment.

 

 

Deep Dive No. 4 (July 2021)

Property professionals and their tenants are emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic with a renewed appreciation for the value of connectivity in the built environment. As they have discovered, a commercial property must be more than just technologically enabled to be considered connected in a post-pandemic world. Deep Dive No. 4: The Office Building’s Role in the Optimized City of the Future explores the essential role office buildings play in fostering a renewed sense of connection in their communities. This fourth installment in our series of BOMA Deep Dives challenges conventional wisdom about “smart buildings” and “smart cities” to uncover how innovation and strategic decisions made at the property level could help power a more sustainable, resilient and equitable future for occupants of commercial buildings—and the communities in which they reside. Check out this bonus video interview between the author of The Office Building’s Role in the Optimized City of the Future and two industry experts who contributed to BOMA Deep Dive No. 4.

 

 

Deep Dive No. 3 (May 2021)

Across the U.S., workers are returning to the office, businesses are opening to full capacity and public health guidance is easing to reflect a growing population of vaccinated individuals. Behind the scenes, property professionals are working tirelessly to deliver health-centric environments that reflect the needs of tenants. Health, Wellness and Sustainability Beyond COVID-19, the third in our series of BOMA Deep Dives, explores tenant well-being and highlights commercial real estate’s role in helping building occupants thrive during the early stages of pandemic recovery and beyond. And watch this bonus video interview between the author of Health, Wellness and Sustainability Beyond COVID-19 and three industry experts who contributed to BOMA Deep Dive No. 3.

 

 

Deep Dive No. 2 (April 2021)

Property professionals and tenant occupiers are busy preparing for the “Great Return” of office workers. While mask-wearing requirements and social distancing measures have their place in these arrangements, there also is a critical human element that must be considered. Tenant Culture and the Psychology of the Return, the second in our series of BOMA Deep Dives, explores the role of the office in reconnecting a changed workforce. And check out the bonus video interview between the author of Deep Dive No. 2 and two industry experts who contributed to this BOMA Deep Dive.

 

 

Deep Dive No. 1 (February 2021)

Simply put, the COVID-19 pandemic is changing things for the commercial office sector—and it seems to be doing so in stages. Charting a Path to the Future of the Office, the first in our series of BOMA Deep Dives, provides a comprehensive snapshot of the industry amid transformation and demystifies the road to “Workplace 2.0.” And check out the bonus video interview between the author of Deep Dive No. 1 and two BOMA members who served as experts for this first BOMA Deep Dive.