I just witnessed history being made. As I watched on live TV the Peace Treaty being signed by the United States and three other countries, I actually got chills and wondered what the future could be for my children and grandchildren if peace could reign throughout the world.   

The momentous occasion that occurred between these countries chose friendship over conflict. We are seeing a paradigm shift. Truly a change that just maybe the rest of the world, including the United States can follow the example. 

There is nothing to suggest a mass exodus from New York City or any other city is happening yet, and there are good reasons to think it will never materialize at scale. Job losses in urban centers are a problem but, after the pandemic passes, there is evidence to suggest that low-wage jobs like food service and retail will come back fairly quickly. Work from home policies to this point don’t appear to have been adopted on a level that would create a mass exodus. And much to the dismay of stans of suburbia, who find density and city life unappealing, there are plenty of people who enjoy living in cities — and who will happily replace those who leave.

“You can have a lot of people get on Zillow and look at listings with no real intention of buying that house,” says Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist at Haus. “Certainly, there’s going to be legitimate buyers in there that reflect their legitimate intent, but because there are a lot of window shoppers it’s tough to sort through that.” 

Either way, definitive evidence of the “urban exodus” would likely take at least a year to become visible in real estate data. The clearest indications of the pandemic’s impact on housing markets will be things like home sale volume and home sale prices. And because home sale transactions can take months to execute, even if people do start leaving cities, the shift will likely play out slowly over time. And, if that’s so, the trend in the housing data may be eclipsed by other factors and become almost impossible to sort out. “Any data at this point is going to be quite noisy,” McLaughlin says.

People fleeing the cities: The narrative persists, but supporting evidence is weak at best. (Jeff Andrews, Jul 13, 2020)

Lake Oconee is seeing an influx of people seeking the beauty our community has to offer. We are seeing people from all states moving here. Like I have said in my past articles, we are unique.  People find Lake Oconee a safe place to raise their children and a beautiful place to live or retire.

What might the future be regarding real estate? When the pandemic is conquered through a vaccine, and our cities can see less violence, Real Estate will again see another change. 

There will always be changes in all aspects of our lives. Many of us say we wish we could go back to normal times. But, to the younger generation they may think this is normal. It is up to all of us to educate the upcoming generation that normal would be PEACE throughout the land. Let’s choose friendship over conflict.  

Thought for the day: Exhale the past.  Inhale the future.