The current situation opens the way to many questions: how is the pandemic affecting the real estate market and what situation is it in? What are the long-term expectations in real estate investments after the coronavirus? 

At the height of the social outbreak and the coronavirus crisis, many wonder what the situation of the real estate market is. There is no unambiguous answer in this regard, but rather we must look at the different sectors to see which are weakened and which are strengthened in real estate investment.

The current moment has led to a contraction in the economy: job loss, bankrupt companies... This situation can be expected to continue in the coming months, approximately for about two or three years. It has already started and it is expected that in the coming months there will be a deterioration of the global economy, high unemployment, and ultimately a contraction of the economy.

This translates into lower demand for home purchase, which in turn translates into an increase in the demand for rentals, since people who cannot buy homes have to live somewhere, and the only option, in that case, is to lease. 

Therefore, the real estate investor, the real estate rentier who buys a property for rent, for rent as such, is on the right foot, given that a market strongly inclined to the demand for rent is predicted.

Overall, residential rent has been one of the strongest markets, which has not declined in this time. A short-term effect did occur in reducing rents because people had to adapt at the time of the outbreak of the pandemic. People who were immediately unemployed made short-term decisions that had a direct impact, but this was something temporary and specific, which has not been extended over time.

When some of these people were left without income or provision of the same, negotiations with the owners took place, but later if those people could not continue paying they had to leave. Likewise, people who previously paid a thousand dollars for a rental, for example, and who now due to their new economic and employment situation cannot afford that cost, have to rent again elsewhere for less, for example, 300 or 500 Dollars. This is therefore producing a demand in the segment for this type of lease, which has monthly amounts from 300 to 600 dollars approximately. 

It must be taken into account that the real estate investor often moves precisely in this segment, that of rents within these amounts. It is a middle segment, low-cost housing, generally apartments. These are people who do not have access to credit, cannot buy a house, and therefore have to rent, and there is an increase in the demand for rent in that band.

Thus, therefore, the segment of residential income is tremendously strengthened at this time for real estate investment. On the other hand, commercial income, for example, the rental of offices, is in a less fortunate moment. Commercial income becomes a very weak instrument, due to the bankruptcy of companies, and due to the notable increase in teleworking, given the quarantine situation produced massively worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

In conclusion, our reading is that the real estate market must be looked at avoiding superficial and generalized readings. Although some sectors are going to be negatively affected, in others the opposite occurs, as explained. Therefore, it is not a question of saying how the real estate market is doing, but of asking which sectors are growing and which are contracting, so that the smartest decisions can be made at all times.