If you could see a real time view of downtown streets in NYC, Chicago, LA etc., what you see are moving trucks filling the streets. It is a mass exodus from these cities for two reasons. One, people no longer must live in the city to work because they can now work from home and two, these cities are now viewed as unsafe because of the civil unrest. Because of how they are managed, the loss of economic value for these cities is almost incalculable.

Over the past hundred years it is interesting to watch cycles where people want to live in the city and then cycles where people move out to suburbs. As one could expect, when the flavor of the day is living in the city, there is an economic boom in downtown areas. Additionally, when it goes the other way and people are leaving the urban areas in droves like now, there is an economic boom in housing in suburban and rural areas. This is what is happening in Atlanta and other major US markets as I write this blog.

This downtown versus suburban living decision cycles back and forth every 20-30 years. The last time people left large cities for suburban living was in the late 80’s and early 90’s. So, if you own a home in the country, its value has just increased. I have a friend of mine who lives one hour south of downtown Atlanta in a very nice but very rural setting. He just sold his home to someone from California who paid the asking price, sight unseen. They didn’t even see the house until after they had already closed on the purchase.

It will eventually shift back to urban city center living but given what can happen in these large cities, it could be years away.

I will see you in the country or on the lake. KT