Infrastructure quality key factor determining location of real estate investment

The results of an analysis of a survey of 241 public sector officials and 202 senior-level real estate executives (developers, investors, lenders and advisors) conducted by the Urban Land Institute and EY have just been released as a report Infrastructure 2014: Shaping the Competitive City.

The survey was conducted in January 2014 and included public and private respondents in large and mid-sized cities across the globe, but primarily in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific.

88 % of respondents rated infrastructure quality as the most important factor influencing the location of real estate investment and development.  Consumer demand was the second most important factor. Among public respondents infrastructure quality was rated as the most important influencer  (91 %). Private sector respondents assessed consumer demand and infrastructure quality as the most important factors (90 % and 86%, respectively).

The most important types of infrastructure determining infrastructure quality as determined by asking  repondents to prioritize infrastructure improvement were public transit, roads and bridges, pedestrian infrastructure, telecommunications including broadband, water and wastewater, and energy. 

1. Improved public transit services (bus and rail) 78%
2. Improved roads and bridges 71%
3. Improved pedestrian infrastructure 63%
4. Improved telecommunications infrastructure 58%
5. Better passenger connections 58%
6. Better water and wastewater infrastructure 52%
7. Better energy infrastructure 51%