Commercial real estate deals still getting done—for now

The pandemic is not the Great Recession. Retail and hospitality are being hit hard, and the office market is vulnerable. But overall—for now—projects still are being built, deals are cautiously getting done and lenders are in a strong position. It’s a time to look for opportunities.

Aaron Gilbert has been working in commercial real estate since 1998 when he sold and leased medical office space in The Big Apple. In 2001 he returned to his native Columbus and joined a family-owned retail real estate firm.

Over a 22-year career, Gilbert has seen the industry weather the 2001 recession that was worsened by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Great Recession that ended in 2009 but caused pain for years after that. Those shocks to the American economy were gut wrenching for real estate professionals, but they seem like small potatoes compared to the devastation the novel coronavirus is wreaking on his industry today.

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