What is the one thing that markets don’t seem to like? Uncertainty.
Many people are over COVID, not just in the hinterlands far away, and not just some kooks on whatever side of the aisle that you dislike. Your neighbors, your magazines, see the health risks far outweighing the bureaucratic risks of having to quarantine away from schools. Rules need to be revisited, and soon, when the risk of hospitalization and death for vaccinated people has moved far closer to zero than risk of being in a car accident (by nearly 10x), firearms (10x), or heart disease .
It hasn’t been about logic or rational thought yet, though. It will take a long time for Americans, and New Yorkers, to confront the impact that the Pandemic has had on our mental health.
Looking at it another way, though, this Omicron moment feels like a “senior moment.” As the virus weakens, we seem to have forgotten that we have managed to function in our world with lots of sickness and viruses lurking around. But soon, our agencies, our schools, our organizations, will remember. My optimistic spirit says that it is a last gasp of anxiety, the darkest-before-the-dawn moment of our past two years. Our society will start to embrace the reality that, thank God, we’ll be living with COVID-19 forever- and still start to move forward.
We had already done so, in many way, in fact. The last year has been a booming real estate market! In that context, Omicron feels like a speed bump. This uncertainty will again fade. Before it does, you may want to consider how you can take advantage of it as a buyer, and make offer on real estate. So many other factors will push buyers into the market (like exploding rent levels). Before that does, dive in. You’ll be happy that you did. -S