One week, everything different? How does Tilman Gartmeier sum up the first week after the ever stricter government restrictions to protect the population and look to the future?

This week has demanded a lot from all of us. No one was prepared for a case like this. At Cube Real Estate, we are a team of 50 motivated and committed employees. Our management is currently doing everything it can to navigate our previously successful business through this time as unscathed as possible. We are doing this with a great deal of social responsibility for our team and responsibility for our projects and business partners. This is no easy task. But the good teamwork gives me hope and courage. I sense a great deal of openness to taking unconventional paths if they lead to a good solution.

I think that as difficult as the current situation is, we can manage it and will take positive learning effects with us into the future. I’m also impressed by how quickly our entire team has made the transition from “working in the office” to “mobile or working from home”. We are also currently working on new process digitalization and are bringing forward software launches that were originally planned for the third and fourth quarters of 2020. Perhaps we can at least take something positive out of the current times.

The development of residential space in particular has not lost any of its importance as a result of the pandemic. The real estate industry remains an important factor in society. But are there perhaps some Achilles’ heels that all players need to pay particular attention to in order to ensure the stability of the industry?

They do indeed exist. One of these critical factors is time. For example, our subcontractors are currently struggling to procure materials for some projects. This makes it difficult to continue to adhere to well-planned processes. Time hurts us financially. All partners must therefore pull together and everyone must be prepared to make concessions. Although the demand for housing is currently taking a back seat in public perception, the market is still there and has lost none of its importance for our industry and society. On the contrary: the residential asset class remains an increasingly attractive, stable investment option for investors, as it fulfills an important basic human need. In other words, you could say that housing is one of the most crisis-proof asset classes!

What is important to me is that the current situation is not limited to our industry or individual market participants. This exogenous, negative influence affects all market participants, albeit to varying degrees. However, it is clear that it was not triggered by supply or demand. It cannot therefore be assumed that long-term stability is in question. The order of the day: we must remain calm and not be alarmed by the prophecies of supposed experts.

You can learn something for the future from every negative experience. What lessons has Tilman Gartmeier learned after the first few days of the social change that is currently taking place?

Community counts more than ever in these times and together we can achieve a lot with prudence, understanding for others and responsibility for common goals!