Feature Story: Recovery could be slower; U-shaped vs. V-shaped

Noted economist, real estate expert Dr. Sam Chandon details the downturn during Revista webcast

By John B. Mugford

Economist Dr. Sam Chandon also spoke at the annual Revista medical real estate conference in 2015 and 2019. (HREI file photo)

As the country bounces back from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming less likely that the economy will make the quick “V-shaped” recovery that many economists, businesses and, for that matter, all of us were hoping for.

Instead, many top economists now believe that the country is in for a “U-shaped” recovery, one in which the economy stays at a “lower level” of production and performance for a longer period of time than originally anticipated at the outset of the crisis.

In providing an update on the economy, Dr. Sam Chandon, who has a PhD in economics and is the Larry & Klara Silverstein chair in Real Estate Development & Investment and dean of the New York University (NYU) SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate, apologized for using the “alphabet” to describe the recovery scenarios.

Dr. Chandon, who, among numerous other duties, also co-hosts “The Real Estate Hour” each Friday at noon Eastern time on SiriusXM radio, cited a Wall Street Journal survey in April of 60 top economists in which they were fairly evenly split between predicting a V-shaped recovery (47 percent) and a U-shaped one (45 percent).

“When we get the next set of data from the forecast pool, based on conversations we’re having with different (economists) in the market, our view is

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