Miami December 2020 – Key Take Aways

• People are still focused on tax reform, CARES Act and PPP forgiveness.  Opportunity Zones remain attractive.
• Deals are getting done, with a number of foreign investors looking for opportunities.
• George Pincus comments there are three trends he is seeing:
  • Continued slow rumble of tenants in office and retail trying to figure out what to do; Landlords are starting to feel the pressure from Lenders.
  • Normal progression of deals, lenders making loans, developers doing deals.
  • More distressed debt deals are starting to surface, especially in hospitality.
• Whiting Turner reports sales are ahead year over year with long term optimism, but foresee a dip in the first half of 2021.
• Distribution/large warehouses, senior living and pharma remain hot.
• Ted Konigsberg reported that he has seen more interest in a 150k sf semi-obsolescent building that he put on the market than any property he has listed in 30+ years.
• Continued reports of lots of Northeast-driven relocations being considered including Carl Icahn and Goldman Sachs.
• High rise office is completely challenged where as one to two story suburban office is doing just fine.
• Though the hospitality industry is hurting badly, roadside motels and hotels in secondary and tertiary markets seem to be faring better.
• A JLL study shows 83% of respondents imagine working from home at least 2 days a week as the norm.
• Guest Robert Finvarb reports they are bullish on Florida and the Sunbelt markets.  Though securing hotel financing in the near term is unlikely, there is optimism for a recovery of leisure travel.
• Lillian Peters with PNC reported that several of her high net worth clients are seeing opportunities created by low interest rates, with lots of refinancing deals happening.  She has also seen an increase in volume with the influx of individuals relocating to Florida, primarily from the northeast.