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Surging Pandemic Wages War on Economy, CRE Industry
In June, the National Bureau of Economic Research officially announced that February 2020 marked the end of the expansion cycle that began in June 2009. The 128-month cycle was the longest growth cycle in U.S. history and came to an abrupt end at the declaration of a global pandemic due to the novel coronavirus. In March 2020, states began ordering residents to isolate at home. Schools were closed. Businesses shutdown. Travel halted. GDP dropped drastically from 2.1 percent in Q4 2019 to an estimated -5.0 percent in Q1 2020. At the same time, unemployment went from near-record lows of 3.5 percent in December 2019 to 14.7 percent in April 2020. This represents the second highest unemployment rate in history, second only to the Great Depression in 1933. The economy went from thriving to barely surviving.
