Post Pandemic Silver Lining ? Office space will be cheaper! But these prices won’t last forever and that’s a fact so make your deal NOW says Jodi Pulice, Founder and CEO JRT Realty Group, Inc. the nation’s largest certified Minority- and Woman- Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) commercial real estate firm.
The Wall Street Journal released a ‘News Exclusive’ this week titled “After Covid-19, Office Leases Largely Come With Bargain Rates – Companies looking for offices in large U.S. cities are seeking less space but longer terms.” There was an analysis of U.S. office-leasing trends prepared for the Journal that suggests many companies in the biggest markets—including New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles—are embracing an emerging hybrid model: maintaining a shrunken office presence while allowing remote work at least part-time. (Sounds to me like this is what people always wished for no?)
New York based commercial real estate CEO Jodi Pulice, thinks technology was pushing the commercial real estate market in this direction anyway but the pandemic just sped up the process by 5 maybe even 10 years. The rents are coming down for sure she said, but the biggest thing she’s seeing right now are landlord ‘concessions’ in the form of free rent.
Some companies are giving up space but not all are acting so quickly. When people do come back to the office they’ll want the 3 to 6 foot distancing so there will be a lot less people occupying spaces where there used to be a lot more people. The companies that are giving up space, are subletting. Sublet space, Jodi mentions, is at a 25 year high.
The good news? She’s noticed more people are coming back into buildings in NYC and there’s more activity in general. She’s still heartbroken for many of the wonderful restaurants in NYC which took a tremendous pandemic hit even though some were very creative with their outdoor seating on the street.
Retail is another another animal entirely said Jodi, who shares that all the empty retail up and down the avenues is – frightening. To her, retail is the pulse of NYC. Should the empty retail spaces be made into living space as has been suggested in various conversations and articles more than once? Jodi thinks it’s a really cool idea because a lot of retail locations do have courtyards in the back. For now she strongly suggests retail owners seriously consider giving a lot of free rent or maybe no rent at all to give people in retail change to get their feet back on the ground.
And what about all the new buildings going up in NYC and more retail being built? About that, Jodi says, she’s baffled.
Are there any trends obvious about what kind of businesses are leaving NYC and what kind are coming in? Jodi sadly reports the Mom and Pop businesses are getting buried and the businesses that had the misfortune to open 5 seconds before the pandemic hit, opened and shut.
As for what businesses are coming in? She thinks the legalization of cannabis could bring in some more shops and she thinks it’s going to be a huge industry in NYC.
Things move fast in NY so we will see. I do wonder personally if the cannabis influx to NY will start to make New Yorkers…slow down? LOL That would be an interesting twist.
Finally BIG Congratulations to Jodi Pulice, founder and CEO of JRT Realty Group, who was recognized as this year’s recipient of The Real Estate Board of New York’s (REBNY) Bernard H. Mendik Lifetime Leadership in Real Estate Award!
JRT Realty Group is strategically aligned with Cushman & Wakefield, a leading global real estate firm.
Great Insightful Conversation If You Have A Few Minutes To Listen.
