RE:RE:RE:RE:SufferingMat, appreciate your thoughts. And maybe I am overly optimistic. The thing is, no one knows whats going to happen, neither the doomsayers or those who are counting on a quick return to pre-pandemic times. 2009 is a good reference point. Different circumstances but a decade ago people also thought the world was ending. We humans have a short memory, and we tend to believe that whatever is now happening (positive or negative) will continue indefinitely.
Permanent major shift? Respectfully, I disagree. People are too caught up in the moment, buying the noise that media is selling, and fearing for the future. In any event, its guess work on my part, yours, and everyone else. Related to public companies, this is why so many have pulled guidance: they just do not know what the next 3 months will bring, nevermind the next year or five. As for office space and congestion, look to NYC, Hong Kong, London as examples of massive congestion and out of sight real estate costs. Yet, this is where people want to be. This may change for a few but not the many. We're social animals; not a lot of people are introverted enough to be able to work at home. Some will move to northern Ontario or Vancouver Island, ride bicycles and gorw their own food but, again, far from enough to support a structural shift.
While I certainly do not know when the pandemic will end, nor when we will emerge from recession, I'm using the last one hundred years as a guide and betting on eventual recovery, and current prices of many companies, including Artis, representing excellent entry points. Personally, I bought Artis on Thursday and Friday last week and will continue this coming weke depending on prices, believing it represents one of the best values / safety in the REIT sector.
Best of luck to you.
ps. excellent book by John Kenneth Galbraith, The Great Crash 1929; many ideas entertained by Galbraith are relevant to whats happening today.