Clear Thinking for Real Estate Leaders
Remote working is still upending the office property sector. In an article I wrote for Real Estate Issues in 2021, I considered the early evidence that working from home and hybrid work arrangements were likely to be lasting legacies of the pandemic.1 Two years later, the “will they or won’t they return to the office“ …
I’m pleased to have returned again this year as the lead writer for Emerging Trends in Real Estate, released last week by PwC and the Urban Land Institute. Despite the challenges of cyclical headwinds and shifting industry dynamics, industry participants remain largely optimistic and “take the long view.” One of our key themes for 2023. …
Continue reading ““Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2023” Released“
Cities and Property Markets Will Never Be the Same. Looks like we’ll be working from home for a while longer. A lot longer. We’ve learned a lot in the last two years about working remotely and adapted our homes to be functional workplaces. Plus, our employers have upgraded their infrastructure to facilitate remote working, often …
Of the many changes in America’s labor markets since the pandemic began, perhaps the most surprising has been a decisive shift in the balance of power from employers to workers. Facing historic labor shortages and much choosier workers, employers are boosting wages, improving workplace conditions, and providing more flexible work arrangements to attract the personnel …
Trading off saving lives for preserving jobs A string of media stories last spring offered a glittery comparison of the pandemic’s impact on California and Florida. Officials in red-leaning Florida gloated that their state sustained comparable rates of COVID infection and mortality as in blue California, despite having much more relaxed policies and taking a …
Continue reading “The Pandemic’s Toll in California and Florida Revisited”
America’s labor markets have been transforming in myriad ways since the onset of the pandemic. Just about every important labor metric is out of whack: job quits, new hires, and job openings are all at record levels, while the number of jobless workers available to fill open positions is at historic lows. It all adds …
Continue reading “America’s “Labor Shortage” Is Not What It Seems”
A Dynamic Property Sector Faces Painful Adjustments and a Bifurcated Recovery Despite wholly different market dynamics, the office property sector is confronting some challenging adjustments coming out of the pandemic that eerily mirror those buffeting the retail sector. American office workers are preparing to venture out from their home offices and return to their company …
Too often the amusing anecdote or the obvious comparison are more misleading than meaningful Ever since the widespread lockdowns last spring, there’s been pitched political debate over how much government should be doing to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Last month several media stories comparing the COVID-19 experience in California and Florida seemed …
When the U.S. economy first went into a tailspin in March as the country entered lockdown, initially there was hope for a “V”-shaped recovery – that the economy would come back as quickly as it had declined – once businesses could safely reopen and people could resume their everyday routines. Indeed, that was the premise …
Continue reading “A Most Unusual Recession – A Mostly Typical (If Protracted) Recovery”
Our economy is on the mend. So far, we’ve recovered more than half the jobs, three-fourths of the economic output (GDP), and seven-eighths of personal income (net of government support) that we had lost in the initial downturn. And there’s been plenty of welcome economic news in the past few weeks. Both retail sales and …
Continue reading “The Jobs Market Is Shouting That We Need A Second Stimulus Package”
