New York, the return of a more resilient and strengthened city

I don't know if you've read the article before this, in which I began by referring to the dinner shared with a couple from Barcelona who had been living in New York for more than fifteen years. "I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps, and realize that I am the king of the hill..." the great Frank Sinatra sang in reference to the Big Apple; those of us who have been to New York more than once have fallen in love with that kind of seductive maelstrom of a city that catches you for its frenetic pace, its cosmopolitan life, its great avenues and its spectacular architecture. But it's a city where I don't just like to get lost every time I visit it for work reasons; New York is also a city that I always look at very closely as it is one of the best "living" indicators on the state of the US economy... and, therefore, worldwide.

Already before Joe Biden's rise to Casablanca, the US economy began to show strong signs of resurgence, growing at a rate of 6.4% during the first quarter of 2021; a fact that experts consider the demonstration of a strong expansion to come, propelled by the recovery of consumption and employment, after more than a year of impact and brake. Just this week, as I reviewed the international press with a coffee, after my morning sports routine, both the Herald and the Post echoed that the citizens of New York are waking up every day with a good dose of optimism in the construction and infrastructure market.  taking advantage of a resurgent cultural interest in discovering new restaurants, new experiences and new trend shops; which shows that New York is not returning to the way it was, but is emerging much stronger and renewed. I suppose that, like me, you have followed the international news during these past months, in which we saw how New York was one of the main cities in the world that went from a pre-pandemic boom to a total closure with economic consequences that still, realistically, have not managed to leave behind completely. But, I stress, all the indicators point to a very good path: the fall in infections, the progressive pace of vaccination, the trillions of government investment in the rescue of businesses and families and the accommodative policy of the Federal Reserve. Undoubtedly, they are factors that coincide in the same space-time to drive record growth in the US economy. But it's not just the written press that that resonates; as I have been able to follow on the ONLINE channel of NBC, day after day there is talk of the significant improvements that are being made throughout the infrastructure of the city. A city that, currently, feels alive and vibrant, thanks in large part to all the significant investments made during the last 15 months. In addition,  

Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway, the Hudson Tunnel Project and the ongoing reconstruction of LaGuardia Airport are some examples of the main projects that will manage to bring dividends to the city's coffers in a few years. I can't help but do the exercise of thinking and theorizing about whether this reality will have a tsunami effect infecting other large cities and serving as inspiration to large Spanish cities such as Barcelona, Madrid or Valencia. And, of course, I try to immerse myself within this entire global framework, in order to analyze how this recovery affects the Real Estate sector. At this level, I have been able to see how, in the private sector, large investments are being made in real estate, and real estate loans in New York are again enjoying a great demand. Whether buying new properties or investing in existing ones, investors quickly seize the opportunity to take back their city in a new but much stronger way. Among my many flaws is that of being a geek of both history and research; and it is this same knowledge (little applicable in my social interactions, beyond enlivening an evening with data and numbers) that allows me to positively theorize about the depth and breadth of the impact that investments in Real Estate can have on a city like Barcelona, which, not only investors and professionals, but its entire society,  you also want to live and enjoy with much more intensity. Properly managed, public infrastructure spending can generate productivity among consumers and businesses, reflected in an increase in GDP and even employment.

I love New York, I will not deny it, but I fervently hope that yours is not a model to which we can resort when we talk about 'best practices' in economics, but one of the earthquakes that mark the great capacity for resilience that we have in our cities. And I am aware of the great work that lies ahead and the many obstacles to overcome; but, in a period in which many continue to show apprehension, the rest of us have to be able to discover before our eyes the existing opportunities for companies to take advantage of this restart. The adaptability of the Real Estate sector, together with a greater digital dependence between users and companies, has resulted in a new environment of established levels, which creates an ideal breeding ground for innovation. Also, as they say in New York, "If you can do it here, you can do it anywhere..."

David Granell Moreno
CEO