“Good psychology should include all the methodological techniques, without having loyalty to one method, one idea, or one person.” -Abraham Maslow

Like good psychology, good investing means being versed in different strategies without being tied to a particular method of thinking. Currently, there are some serious tectonic-shifts in the investment landscape, and investment real estate is no different.

Pivoting in uncertain economic times 

If we are paying attention, we can position ourselves not only to weather any potential storms but to take advantage of what we see happening in the world around us.

Businesses that once sought to attract employees with the lure of living in a big city now question if they need to have that triple net lease in the most expensive high-rise overlooking the bay.

As work from home becomes more commonplace, many companies are looking at options for downsizing the scope of their commercial real estate footprint. This further opens the door to potentially uprooting their headquarters to a more tax-friendly location, like investment banking icon Goldman Sachs moving their Asset Management base from New York to Florida.

Covid-caused migration from urban areas

Major shifts are also happening in the marketplace of single-family homes. It seems 59% of new single-family rental home residents relocated from urban environments in the third quarter. Combine that with record low-interest rates, and it’s no wonder single-family home prices are on the rise.

The fact of the matter is real estate is a basic human need. People know what it is. We all have an idea as to what it’s worth. If you want to get fancy, you can even break down the costs of the land, labor and materials.

Can we say the same of other investments we place our hard-earned dollars towards?

Real estate is an essential part of life at the base of Maslow’s pyramid, and we know it’s not going away anytime soon. A benefit of investing in real estate in the United States is that we have some of the most robust property rights in the world. As Americans, we can benefit from these property rights as owners of our homes and as real estate investors.