“ The things that I think helped me the most was my law degree and my practice as an attorney ; I think that really allowed me to instill confidence in my clients ,” Oppenheim said . “ And I look for that in ( hiring ) agents . I ' ve got a couple of attorney agents and I can ' t imagine a better pedigree for real estate than a law degree ."
Though the COVID19 pandemic affected all segments of the real estate industry , Oppenheim believes the worst is over for investors , homebuyers , and agents alike .
“ The bottom line is with real estate , there ' s actual need ,” he said . “ It ' s not like stocks or Bitcoin or where you don ' t need those things . People need to live in a house , they need to expand , they have a family , or they need to move .”
He adds : “ I think it ' s one of those kinds of fundamental assets and investments where despite the ups and downs , it ' s always going to have a general trend upwards . It ' s really hard to keep real estate down , and you can do it in the short term , but it ' s like a bubble in water . It just finds its way back out .”
Less populated areas have become more popular because people want more space due to more time at home . They have legitimate concerns about the problems associated with crowded cities , he noted . Newport Beach and Monterey are increasingly popular in California and states such as Arizona , Florida , Texas , Utah and Wyoming are also seeing a flux of investors and residents alike , according to Oppenheim .
“ I think it ' s too soon for us to see people coming back to those major dense areas ( Los Angeles and New York City ),” he said . “ In L . A . specifically , the crime is out of control . And I think homelessness is becoming an even more serious problem .” Tax issues are also pulling people out of major urban areas ,
Oppenheim added .
Photographs courtesy of the Oppenheim Group
“ For example , a lot of people who ' ve made a lot of money in stocks and cryptocurrency are deciding to move to a state that doesn ' t have a high state tax before they sell ,” he said . And you know , that makes sense to me .”
Another challenge was the varying COVID measures in American cities and states , per Oppenheim .
“ I think that the past mandates and government intervention was pushing people out of certain states ,” he said .
' I think it ' s one of those kinds of fundamental assets and investments where despite the ups and downs , it ' s always going to have a general trend upwards . It ' s really hard to keep real estate down and you can do it in the short term , but it ' s like a bubble in water . It just finds its way back out .'
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