Real estate companies in New York City are dealing with the harsh realities that office workers in the City could take on a new look after the virus outbreak and subsequent lockdowns and social-distancing requirements.
Some are considering turning more than one million square feet of workspace in the City into housing units, The New York Times reported last week.
The paper laid out the sobering details when it comes to commercial real estate. About 14 percent of the office space in Midtown is empty, which marks the highest amount in over a decade. The paper also pointed out that one-third of the stores on Madison Avenue, the historic retail stretch, is also empty. The problem impacts the entire City, which draws much of its tax revenue from the industry.
James Whelan, President of the Real Estate Board in New York, told the paper there is more trouble on the horizon, saying, “It would probably be fair to say we haven’t hit bottom yet.” The paper reported that commercial property sales are down by 50 percent in 2020. There are a plethora of reasons why the trend is continuing.
Working remotely, for many companies, has proven to be effective, and the old-school office setting seems to be becoming outdated, according to some in the industry.
“Anyone that thinks the way that people used the workplace in the past isn’t going to change post-pandemic is fooling themselves,” Scott Rechler, Chairman of the Regional Plan Association and the chief executive of RXR Realty, told the paper.
TREND FORECAST: We had forecast this trend back in March when politicians launched to COVID War.
With people leaving densely populated cities, turning commercial real estate into residential will in turn push down rents.
On a broader scale, as we noted, politicians launch wars without exit strategies. Why? Because they do not risk their lives in the fight, nor do the Senator’s son… or daughter.
Same with the COVID War. While businesses go bust and hundreds of millions of people around the world sink into poverty and misery, politicians get their paychecks, health care, benefits retirement plans, etc., regardless of how low the economy goes.
They don’t have to work or be in business to collect income. They steal the money in the name of taxes: school taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and taxes on anything else they can invent to steal money from the plantation workers of Slavelandia.
