When Commercial Observer discussed the concept for this yearโs Power 100, we were in a slightly apocalyptic frame of mind.
While many people in the business have a vested interest in putting the sunniest possible slant on every misstep or ominous sign from the marketplace, very few are even paying lip service to those sentiments these days.
Itโs bad out there. Bad as itโs ever been. Even those who have protected themselves from over-leveraged traps that plunged real estate into years of long, painful recession, have reason to worryโฆ about everything, not least of which involves taking a step out of their home and dying a few weeks later of a horrible disease.
But even if weโre talking strictly business matters, everything is vulnerable. Multifamily has always been a safe bet (no matter what, people are going to need somewhere to live), but if nobody can afford their rent, how safe is it really?
When we first began putting together this list we thought: Who would be safest in a crisis like this one? (Answer: Industrial, suburbs, multifamily, life sciences and techโand owners whose portfolios are unleveraged.) Who would be most damaged? (Hospitality, retail, empty new office.) Who will be most needed in the coming months? (Public health figures, proptech inventorsโand definitely lawyers.) And who could offer the most amount of help? (City and state politicians and bureaucrats โฆ there are so many that they got their own sidebar on the list.)
Yes, the landscape is bleak. Maybe not as grim as โMad Max,โ โPlanet of the Apesโ and โThe Terminator.โ But we have tried to spell out who from the real estate worldโand beyondโwill lead the city, the state and the nationโs real estate out of this crisis and into a better tomorrow.โM.G.