"I am delighted to welcome you to the 15th edition of The Wealth Report.
Since the report was first published it has chronicled a period of radical change. Donald Trump, then “just” a property developer, was one of our very first interviewees. We all know what happened next. The global financial crisis swept
over us. The world adapted and survived.
But I can honestly say that during my career in property,
I have never seen things changing as quickly as they are now. On this page 12 months ago I predicted that we were at the start of the new “Roaring Twenties”. Little did I know quite what lay around the corner.
Some of the long-term trends that we examined last year, such as the changing role of the office, have been supercharged by the Covid-19 pandemic. Behavioural shifts we expected to play out over the next five or even ten years have happened in a matter of months.
In this edition, using data and insight from our research teams around the world, we endeavour to predict what may come next in residential and commercial real estate markets, in the hope that it will help our clients capitalise on the opportunities that are being created by this acceleration of trends.
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the formation of Knight Frank. As a business we have changed radically during that time, growing from our valuation and auctioneering roots in London to become a truly global full-service property consultancy. But we remain true to our core values – delivering innovative advice that creates tangible value for our clients, while all the time working responsibly, in partnership, to enhance people’s lives and environments.
Covid-19 has affected all of us, whether from an economic or personal perspective. The theme of last year’s edition of The Wealth Report was “wellness”. Entirely coincidental, but with hindsight eerily prescient – looking after our health and that of our families has never been more important.
I hope you are managing to stay safe through the pandemic, and I wish you all the best during the remainder of 2021. Do let us know if the Private Office or the wider Knight Frank network can help in any way."
- RORY PENN — HEAD OF KNIGHT FRANK PRIVATE OFFICE
