Irish Examiner View: Underlying threat to commercial property 

The increasing popularity of hybrid working is likely to have unpredictable consequences, and some of them will certainly be financial

The retrenchment of major companies involving staff and cost reductions when allied to a drive towards home working raises tricky questions.

Much debate about the future of employment has focussed on the popularity and desirability of working from home. This scores well on the metrics of life balance, time management, and environmental concerns but has its critics when it comes to enterprises which rely on the creative synergy of people working together and thrashing out solutions which the marketplace needs.

What is underappreciated, for now, are the implications for the commercial property markets in major cities in Ireland and overseas. And the reason that this might be of more general interest to many people is because pension funds have, for years, viewed investment in this sector as a one-way bet to reliable and satisfactory returns. If that falters, then lower yields could affect retirement pots everywhere.