Bright Lights, Big Cities

There’s been a lot of reports lately that major cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles are losing thousands of people to the “glorious” states of Florida, Texas, and Nevada, to name a few. The suggestion is that the old Gateway Cities are done for, given their high taxes, cost of living, congestion, and that technology that allows people to work from anywhere.

This assumption will be proven false.

The truth is all of the aforementioned negatives have always existed in the big cities. They have been temporarily accentuated because of the pandemic. The main reason people are leaving is because all the wonderful amenities that exist in our nation’s greatest cities have been shut down for over a year. Why pay to live in an expensive city when you can’t go to restaurants, bars, museums, stores, shows, concerts, sporting events, etc.? Once the world is open for business again, big cities will quickly repopulate and thrive.

Yes, it is expensive to live in New York and Los Angeles. But, as the old saying goes, “you get what you pay for.” The younger generation that fled to those “glorious” cities will soon understand that concept.

There will always be immediate reactions generating trends that may not be meant to last. It’s best to take a wait-and-see approach on some of those trends and maintain a balanced approach to lending. At ACRES, we are bullish on the big cities and now may be an opportune time to dive in.

– Mark Fogel, CEO & President