REITs’ Liquidity Resources Will Help Sector Face Coronavirus Challenges Ahead

In the March 30 edition of the REIT Report podcast, Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure highlighted the latest developments in how the coronavirus crisis is impacting the economy and commercial real estate.Schnure noted that public health officials are indicating that “we need to prepare for a long haul,” which in turn is increasingly impacting cash flows for businesses and wages and incomes for workers.The first hard data on the magnitude of the effect came last week as initial jobless claims soared to a record 3.3 million, but “even this number understates the true impact,” Schnure said. The unemployment rate is likely to rise from 3.5% to 7.0% and is probably heading to 10% or higher in coming weeks, he added. “This is a major challenge for us in the months ahead.”