Well, 2020 turned out to be an unforgettable year!
I’ll never forget Thursday, March 12. A day packed with meetings, subway rides, apartment showings, dinner and then a phone call from my brother-in-law telling me we were leaving New York City the next day, no questions asked! With only two pairs of clothes, I left without realizing I wouldn’t be back until June.
All expectations were completely thrown out the window as we scrambled to fight Covid-19. At first, New York City was the center of the pandemic and arguably the hardest hit. Now, after all that has happened over this past year I think it’s safe to say we have seen the worst, but we still have a long recovery ahead.
In real estate, we did a full years worth of work in about half the time. For a while we weren’t even allowed to show apartments. It was a mass exodus with way more outflow than inflow. Even today there is a lot of inventory with significantly less demand.
It was the demand for rentals which came back first and renters started coming in to take advantage of the falling prices. During the summer, people were upgrading apartments trying to get more space. The studio rentals were very slow. Then the roommates started breaking up and the demand for inexpensive studios came roaring back. Some offices have reopened, but majority are still closed. We hope over the course of 2021 everyone feels safe enough to return to the office. Demand will be soft until that happens.
The sales market is where you find “true New Yorkers” these days. There are purchasers looking for longterm value and there are incredible apartments on the market for sale. Buyers have been waiting for prices to come down forever, and now that they have there aren’t many buyers to be found! We did have a few successful sales transactions this year, but the majority is taking advantage of the unbelievable rental deals. What can we expect from 2021? Hopefully this next year is a little easier on us all!
