Over the last six months, we’ve experienced an unprecedented exodus from our country’s urban hubs. With millions of Americans working remotely, demand to live near expensive, job- rich hubs like New York City or San Francisco has fallen markedly, and many families have turned to more cost-effective living options in the suburbs.
Yet, many real estate experts say that while this may be a macro-level trend, it does not necessarily hold steady when examining particular markets across the country.
Among these experts is Ari Stiegler, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist whose investments harness the latest technology to offer lucrative solutions to social problems like high housings costs. He says that while some American workers have relocated to suburban areas amid the new work-from-home reality, many will eventually return to cities as the health situation continues to improve, creating new real estate paradigms in many of the country’s most prominent markets. Stiegler, for example, points to Los Angeles as a pandemic-era real estate enigma. Long viewed as one of the country’s most livable cities, Stiegler said that Los Angeles is experiencing a real estate pattern different from other major US cities. Unlike peer metropolises like New York, LA’s real estate market and population have remained stable throughout the current health crisis, with no mass exodus of residents.
Other experts agree. Speaking with Marketplace about LA’s positive real estate trend, Vivian Gueler, chief financial officer at Pacific Trust Group in LA, said that low interest rates are fueling the city’s real estate market. “And in fact, it’s been busier than ever,” Gueler said.
LA’s ongoing popularity is driven by its confluence of attractive attributes and its enduring cultural allure, Stiegler said. With a strong job market, ideal climate, and plethoric cultural and entertainment opportunities, LA not only offers growth prospects, but also a relaxed vibe that Stiegler believes may be especially important as Americans heal from a year of upheaval.
“Los Angeles has always been a world-class real estate market, and I anticipate that, as COVID dissipates, we will see the appreciation of land value, increased construction and high sale rates for listed properties,” Stiegler said.
Stiegler adds that while the ultra-luxury home market will stay strong, new housing models such as co-living—in which residents share a fully furnished, specially-designed living space with like-minded others—will become more popular. Co-living may be especially attractive over the next few years, as we transition to a post-COVID way of life and the economy begins to recover, he says.
“As our society emerges from this difficult moment, our communities are being reinvented— becoming more inclusive and sustainable,” said Stiegler “I think Los Angeles will be a trend- setter through this process. The Los Angeles real estate market has already begun to reflect these new changes and cultural attitudes, and I anticipate many of these thread lines to continue well into the future.” Uncertainty on the immediate horizon, such as the outcome of the November election and its impact on tax rates, still leave Los Angeles’ real estate market in a state of relative flux. But, as Stiegler said, periods of change make it possible to revolutionize established markets and improve lives, which Stiegler cited as a major focus of his investments.
“No one can deny that 2020 has been a turbulent year,” Stiegler said. “But over the last few months, we’ve begun to observe the trends and themes that could come to define the Los Angeles real estate market for the next twenty or thirty years. For those looking to impact the housing market here in the City of Angles, the time is now.”
(Syndicated press content)
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