Property speculators around the world could find that they are able to benefit from sustainable real estate investments, according to one expert.
Indeed, more investors are also likely to place focus on the sustainability of the assets in their commercial properties during the next few years, Etienne Cadestin, sustainability consultant at Knight Frank added.
"Most of the time, people want a very quick return on investment [and] sustainability doesn't constitute a very fast return on investment. However, if they want to invest in long-term investment and look at the economic benefits that they can get out of energy efficiency programmes, then it is a win-win situation. Over time, they will care and they will start caring more," he explained.
However, according to the Investment Property Databank's UK Sustainable Property Index commercial real estate that meets stringent sustainability criteria has underperformed less sustainable counterparts by 400 basis points in terms of investment return since the first quarter of 2008.