Late to the party here. I work full-time at a tech company where we are all working remotely and invest in RE on the side. I didn't go through the entire thread, so hopefully, these points haven't been made yet:
1) I think what COVID has done is shown both employers and employees work from home is practical for a good portion of the workforce (e.g., white-collar jobs). CFOs will love not having to pay for real estate for every employee, and employees will love the flexibility and no commute time. As someone said, I think COVID may have accelerated things by a good number of years.
2) Consequently, I do think some people that would've moved to big cities like NY and SF may stay put, or people currently living those cities will think about moving.
3) Having said all that, big cities will be big cities... they will all evolve and adapt in ways none of us can know yet... So long term I'm still bullish on NY/SF and other iconic cities.
4) More importantly, ss RE investors we have to think about how it will impact our particular tenant segment. Young professionals with jobs where they could work from home will need bigger spaces. People who live in 2 bedrooms may start looking for 3 bedrooms for a home office.
For what it's worth, I own two condo units in NYC, and both sets of tenants left to go back to their home country after COVID hit... it's taken a bit more incentives, but there are still people looking for a place to live out there :)
Good luck everyone!
Kenny
