11/9/20 Philadelphia Mastermind Group Meeting

Philadelphia November 2020 – Key Takeaways

• The recession is still settling in and it’s unclear whether the recovery will continue slowly or whether there will be a second drop. 
• Recovery has been a mixed bag for various industries, with hospitality and leisure being hit particularly hard.  Some geographic areas are also facing special challenges, especially urban areas.
• Some employers are finding child care issues and fears regarding Covid to be barriers to hiring, particularly as unemployment assistance has been easily available.
• Most offices are bringing people back in greater numbers, with many senior staff members coming in most days and other employees coming in person some days.  Many are finding that it’s easier to get work done in person while other companies are considering more permanent work-from-home solutions.
• Many businesses are shifting focus to other departments or finding new opportunities to keep business flowing, including areas involving cyber security, forensic fraud, modular housing and QOZ compliance.
• A lot of members report being cautiously optimistic for 2021.  Many businesses have been able to hold steady through the pandemic, with enough backlog to keep things going, some new proposals coming in, late payments becoming a smaller issue, people looking to sign new leases and larger projects such as the Navy Yard being discussed.  Plywood is also being removed from retail stores and talk of a vaccine offers the hope of stability moving forward.
• Industrial is strong, primarily due to changes in the retail market.
• Multi-Family is still strong, though may be showing cracks. 
• The office market is expecting drops of 10-15% moving forward, though not quite the doom and gloom others are talking about.  There are opportunities to turn some office buildings into residential. 
• Retail is doing better than some industries due to continued strength of grocery stores, home improvement stores, etc.  There are opportunities to repurpose retail stores into other uses, but flexibility is key.