December always seems to be a time of waiting. Whatever happened during the year, we think it will change in January. This year many of us have that feeling even stronger than in the past. New election, vaccine, end of eviction moratorium. Come on January, February, March, we need the changes you’re bringing. Don’t extend that eviction moratorium, don’t delay those vaccines. Oh yes, and one more thing: property owners, we need you to put your properties up for sale, at reasonable prices! Well we can wish for it anyway. The optimists are saying once a certain critical mass of

Are you seeing more properties become available? We have, and it is encouraging. Owners still want more than the properties are worth, but with options come opportunities. Love it! A little bit of improvement in clarity on the future after an election helps, and a feeling of plans put on hold for too long helps too. Throughout this pandemic, even the year or two prior, we have heard brokers tell us over and over that nothing hits the market, it’s bought up before anyone even knows about it. And all of the value-add properties have been bought and renovated. Nothing

This has to be one of the most unique time periods we’ve experienced for real estate investing. So many events are swirling around us now, coming together in the next few months. We have an election that may radically transform the way we do business. A virus pandemic that will come to an end soon with a vaccine. Or not. An economy that until eight months ago was on a tear, then dropped faster than we’ve seen before, and is now climbing back to the growth, unemployment, and stock market levels we had before the drop. And interest rates that

Six months ago we thought the pandemic would be mostly gone. Summer weather would mean we’re outside and not spreading the virus, medical research would produce a remedy, and we would all have changed our behaviors to prevent the spread. State and local governments restricted evictions but Fannie and Freddie offered borrowers forbearance. Once we looked that new word up, we decided maybe it wasn’t such a great offer. Today the picture continues to be muddy. The short term mortgage relief offered in forbearance will come due shortly, the CDC stepped up restrictions on evictions at a national level, and

Haircuts. Restaurants. Meetups. Camping. Open, closed, or something in between? How our states control these activities in a global Covid pandemic is informative. Would you like to invest in a state that has businesses closed? Or one where they are moving quickly to return to a pre-Covid normal? Are there more favorable business opportunities in states where they have stayed locked down? Are these states safer? Are states still in lock-downs controlling the spread of the virus better than states that have opened? All good questions when it comes to multifamily investing. Investing involves risk but how do you measure

Are you ready to invest based on what the world will look like when the pandemic is over? Most of us, including myself, believe the world will not return to normal postpandemic, and a new normal will emerge. Here a few thoughts. People may migrate out of cities so they can be away from crowds and less likely to pick up the next nasty virus. But I’m doubtful this will be a noticeable change. Businesses still set up shop in the cities and people still need to get to work. And we have a short memory, so fear of viruses