Over the past few weeks I’ve noticed an increase in commercial real estate vacancies around Manhattan, especially ground level retail. Tonight on my walk, I took some photos around Flatiron, NoMad, and Union Square. A few of these places were vacant before the virus came around, such as the Belgian beer spot.
I have a short position on REM with the expectation that real estate (especially commercial real estate) is in for a big price correction. Carl Icahn has also talked about this.
As they say, a picture’s worth a thousand words.