The residential real estate business is booming right now, and this includes 1-4 unit multifamily properties as well as larger 5+ unit multifamilies. Single family homes have seen their heyday recently with little inventory and plenty of competition. While there have always been plenty of individuals looking to invest in multis, this number has recently increased, especially on smaller multifamily properties. With people being out of work due to layoffs and furloughs, many are going to look to offload their large mortgages and get into something more affordable.
There's little doubt that small businesses have been some of the hardest hit through this COVID-19 pandemic. We might not know what it is going to look like, but there IS a "normal" in the future. Many businesses are barely staying afloat, forget thriving, but there are some things businesses can do now to try and be ahead of the curve.
One of the sectors of commercial real estate that seems to be surviving through this pandemic is the industrial sector, despite having to shut down for a period of time.
In June we saw:
• higher list-to-close ratios for sales AND leases
As I began to draft this article, I had to stop and pause for a moment to reflect on how drastically altered the commercial real estate landscape finds itself due to the implications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not surprisingly retailers are a litttttle leery signing new leases in the midst of a pandemic. Even with businesses beginning to open up across the country in May and June, there are still too many unknowns out there.
Among those questions are:
Could this be the jab to the throat brick-and-mortar retail was trying to avoid? Back in February forecasts were predicting that U.S. retail would see moderate growth somewhere around 2.8% in 2020. This was PC (pre-COVID), of course. Now, the newest available data is showing that U.S. retail sales will most likely decline 10.5% this year, and those getting hit the hardest will be brick-and-mortar retail stores.
Market Mondays are backkkk and this week we're looking at offices offices and how recent events have affected how (and where) people work.
Happy Fourth of July to all of our clients and fellow brokers!
It might look a little different this year, but everyone here at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Verani Realty's Commercial Division wishes all of you a fun and safe day of celebration!