Micro Trends: Conversation with JLL on Growth in Life Sciences Real Estate
Interest in life sciences real estate has jumped during the current public health crisis. MBA NewsLink interviewed JLL Executive Director of U.S. Life Sciences Markets Travis McCready, Managing Director Zach Bowyer and Senior Vice President Erik Hill about the sector.
JLL recently released a new Life Sciences Emerging Markets Index report, available here.
MBA NEWSLINK: Interest in the Life Sciences real estate category jumped significantly during the current public health crisis alongside investment in the associated industries. What factors play into this trend?
TRAVIS McCREADY: With traditional asset classes like office and hospitality significantly wounded worldwide by the pandemic, institutional investors sought haven in alternative asset classes. Life sciences, cold storage, data centers and other niche areas not only remained stable but indeed continued grow at a strong rate as a result of the activity generated by the pandemic. Through this discovery process, investors have been exposed to the unique, powerful and accelerating demand drivers of the life sciences industry, and they have come to understand that there simply is not enough lab space available in today’s market. The amount of lab square footage in the US is only about 1 percent of the overall industrial square footage. Scarcity, high trading value and accelerating demand is a tempting combination for any institutional investor.
