Commercial Real Estate Back on Covid Merry-Go-Round

that we like to follow at Bloomberg. So too does our next guest, and back with him, certainly a friend of the show, Ketswig, president at s WWIG Equities of real estate development and investment firm. They focus on commercial and residential properties here on the East coast, on the West coast, and Kent back with us on the phone in New York. How are you? I am good, I'm good.

How are you doing? I'm doing well, trying to make sense of you know, once again, I feel like I've seen this movie before, and I know you and I talk about it every time that there's a little bit of a spike in numbers or a hotspot. When it comes to COVID, we see IBM closing New York City offices amid rosings in COVID nineteen cases. We see a lot of companies rolling back bringing back workers to their offices.

What are you seeing and what are maybe the implications kent when it comes to commercial real estate, Well, you said it perfectly, you know, I feel like we're back on the merry ground. Um. I thought we were coming out of this certainly by labor Day. I thought that the office population would be you know, very much filled back in New York City. Um. I think what's happening is it's just it's a slow entry back. Um, we're

certainly seeing rising occupancy. Um. New York is you know, well over with one vaccine and and we're we're getting more that way. So UM, you know it, this really, this whole variant is a result, frankly, of the fact that people aren't getting their vaccines. Um. And those people who are not getting vaccines really are are are walking weapons against you know, all of those who have been vaccinated,

all of humanity and against them selves. So it's incumbent upon us as Americans, as a patriotic thing to do is to get vaccinated, and that would put us in a position where we can reopen in a much safer way. Well, you know, when you talk about you know, we're seeing people come back though in terms of rising office vacancy. How many offices there are still wide open? Nobody's there? Well, I meant rising off the office occupancy if I if I said it wrong, I heard that we're still there.

But it's um, you know, we the occupancy is slowly rising, is what I was trying to say. The look I thought we would have been, you know, fifty six by now, we're not. Um, it is getting that way, I think. You know, we're sitting also in the last two weeks of August going into Labor Day, so people are saying, you know, there's a variant out there. The weather's you know, still hot. I might as well wait till after Labor Day. We're going to go into the Jewish holidays at that point,

and there'll be another reason not to come back. So, um, you know, it's not moving as quickly certainly as we thought. You know, masking is starting to become more prevalent again. Um, you know, temperature readers are out there, washing hands is certainly, you know in Vogue again more so than it was. UM. And I think this is all all within our control this time. The virus is the virus, and it's up to us, as the citizens of America to become vaccinated. No,

that is how we will deal with the virus. And it's a pretty simple thing, um. And it's and that's that's what's going on right now is those who have not are putting both the economy and human other humans at risk. Well, Ken, and forgive me, you did say slowly rising office occupancy. I just wrote it down wrong, so you're you're spot on. I just want to give credit where it's due, Um, present button did did um call out the private sector and thank them for what

they are doing? Do you think the private sector heads of companies are doing enough in terms of saying you want to come more, or you're gonna be a customer, this is what you need to do. Um? Yes, I could we do more always, But I think that the private sector has responded very very intelligently and quickly and rather boldly. You know, UM, I know for our companies, we've required a vaccine absolutely or you have to take a COVID test at least twice a week within twenty

four hours and show UM that you have a negative test. UM. I'm I'm pushing towards not even allowing that and just saying if you're not vaccinated, you just can't come into the office. UM. Fortunately for most of my companies, everybody has been vaccinated UM. And I commend those people and they're honoring themselves as well as as the rest of our humanity in America. UM. But I think I do

think the businesses have responded quite well to that. And that's what it takes, you know, it's if we need to implore and to all the people to get this vaccine. Is there a dislocation? I think you and I have talked about this before, and I think one of the things that has been so surprising is that we haven't seen more problems in the commercial real estate as more, you know, as people have stayed home. Is there some

dislocation coming UH on a larger scale. Kent that that you're anticipating and just got about forty five and then we'll come back and talk some more perfect question. UM. The answer is possibly yes, UM. And and the reason is is because for the first time really UM in our country's history. Potentially, we have a we have a

we have a shortage of workers. Um people are finding some people are finding that they'd rather take a lot less pay and sit at home, not have to commute, not have to buy clothing for work, and they think that they can work for home. That potentially portends a a a slowdown maybe in some of the office uh leasing that has occurred in the past. But I would say that's more Class B and C space than it would be Class A space. Alright, great, great response. Hey,

sit tight, Kent. We're gonna come back and talk some more. I want to talk a little bit about crypto the ald because I know you guys have been moving into that and with a stable coin specifically. And I also want to talk a little bit about maybe local politics. We are talking about Ken Swig, he is president of Swig Equities with us on the phone from New York City. Will continue that conversation in just a moment. Let's get back to our guest. Ken Swig, president at Swig Equity,

is a real estate development and investment firm. They've got properties on the eastern West Coast. He's still with us on the phone in New York City. Hey, hey Ken, when you hear like Macy's, I mean they're on a tear this year at least the equity trade here. How do you think about retail going forward? What really stays

with us? Especially after a year and a half or we've seen so much of a move to the upside in e commerce, Yet you still have somebody like Amazon who says, wait a minute, we still need also we're interested in opening up large retail. Well, it's it's interesting retail itself. Um, you know, I like to say it's you know what what Einstein said about matter, right, It's it's neither created nor destroyed. It's merely changes its form.

So retail is clearly changing its form. But in terms of popularity, um, you know, people are still buying things um all over I think that, Um, it's just you know it, the big box users have such realized that they don't need to have that kind of space in you know, very very expensive locations in order to perform well and sell their goods and services. So, um, you know there are form changes. You know, industrial was used to be we used to call industrials really now just

an extension of retail. Um. So people are still shoppings, people are still buying. I was talking to UM, a company of Vashon Constantine the other day and and unbelievable, their sales are so dramatically better over in the middle of COVID. So um, you know, people are buying very very expensive watches to wear at home. But but nonetheless they were so UM. It's it's it's an interesting period

of time. Yeah, it's interesting in the luxury space are We talked to a watchmaker, to a seller of watches, one of the luxury, the high end too, and they said, you know, basically you'd get into a virtual store and you would be showing watches a seller to some customer. And that's how they did it, and it worked. And who would have thought a few years ago that they would do and be able to sell something that sells for thousands of dollars, you know, virtually, but they did it. Hey,

I want to switch gears a little bit if I can. UM, Let's talk a little bit about the crypto world, because you guys are developing a new cryptocurrencies. It's a stable coin, it's backed by a physical asset. We're talking about gold. How is that going and where are you in that process. Um, it's not. While it appears a lot like a stable coin, we cannot define ourselves quite that way. Okay, don't um, But how is it going? It's going very well? We

um we uh. We actually have a coin that we took over and the coin had some problems and trading discrepancy, so we basically closed it down and we're re issuing a brand new cone with gold backing and giving a free coin to everybody who had a legitimate coin ownership prior to the trading this proprieties um, and it's going well. Where One of the unique things about us is that we're based in the United States and the coin is Dignity Gold UM. But we're basing the United States. We're

open and transparent of who owns it. Our attorneys are in the United States, the gold is in the United States. We've got gold backing, um, you know, with a lean on on on the mind where the gold rests. UM. We're voluntarily going in and filing with the SEC for us. So it's it's a very different way of going about

doing it. And in fact, we will also be paying a dividend because we're setting up an investment fund that that is linked with with the coin and pledging some of the dividends UM that are you know, profits will be paid at a dividend to the coin holder. So help me out here, because it is it is so different from like the other cryptocurrencies that are out there.

So who do you see actually buying it? Is? Is it correct and that it's going to be available at the end of the year or what's the timeline on this UM, Well, it'll it should be publicly traded, you know, at the end of the year. It's not an initial coin offering because it's just we're issuing coins to people who had a previous one. UM. But the part of what I think we're looking at is the different thing that the dig the digital currency is in fact the

digital currency. I think what we're doing is we're taking business practices that make sense UM in terms of governance, in terms of SEC regulation and and and review uh in terms of real backing attorneys, etcetera, and then applying it into the digital currency world because frankly, you know, there some two eight digital currencies that are out there. A lot of it, you know, are out there in the wild wild west of the world. UM where you

don't know who owns them. You don't know the trading platforms, you can't find anybody around. They're they're all decentralized. Um and and you know, it's it's an odd thing to go buy a company that you don't really know what it does. It doesn't perform, it doesn't make money, etcetera. And it's the greater fool theory that if you you

buy it and somebody else will pay more. This this has business practices with gold backing and and procedures and policies, and it will be linked to a fund with dividends being paid. So it's kind of blending good business, you know, from from the old world, if you will, into the digital currency world. We've learned a lot since you learned about cryptocurrencies from your son. No, seriously, it's a lot. Um. Hey, you just got a couple of minutes left. Here are

a little bit under that New York politics. I know you're backing Eric Adams. You are all in on him. Tell us about what you think the city needs right now as a leader. Well, we need leadership and and and and one of the reasons I'm backing Erica Adams is is he happened to be, in my opinion, the

right person certainly at the right time. Um. He could walk into the police force, um having been there for twenty two years as a captain, and talk to the police as one of them, and and and be able to look and say, you know, nobody's there's no human group on earth that's perfect. So we have to recognize our weaknesses and we have to you know, overcome them, etcetera.

And he's doing it with respect and understanding. At the same time, he can walk into the black community and other communities here and say, look, you know, not only do I understand the community, and I have grown up in New York and I understand your issues. I was also beaten up by the police at one point in my life, and I joined them to make changes. So I'm not looking to ostracize people. I'm looking to, you know, to to to work from within. And I think that's

a very unique plant. He knows where all the street corners are, he knows where all where people live, he knows where the communities are, he knows and he takes a very logical business practice, you know, uh viewpoint of of how to run the city, which through a business point of view. Well, that's gonna ask you just thirty seconds quick. I mean, this is a city, the Wall Street community, the financial community, the business community. Is he going to be sympathetic to it in your view, the

investment community, just quickly, quickly. The answer is yes, but I'm saying it in a different way. He's going to be sensitive to the New York City population as a whole, which is a blend of all of the component parts of us. So he's leading all of us, he's not leading fractions of us. And he can walk in and people and will listen to him. They don't have to agree with him all the time, but they'll listen because he is one of us in so many different ways.

And that is leadership with an understanding, and that's what we need. All right. On that note, we're going to say goodbye, Kent, thank you so much. To be well. Ket Swigg, he is president of Swig Equities. On the phone from New York City,