The past decade has been quite the ride, but we are ready for the roaring 2020s.
Can you believe it? We are just a few days from leaving this decade and entering the 2020s. That will be a relief, because calling the past decade the 20-teens, or whatever, just never sounded right.
But what a decade it was. It started with coming out of the worst financial calamity in 70 years, with nobody knowing what would happen next. Capital dried up, values dropped, M&A activity almost disappeared, development came to a standstill, at least for some, and unemployment soared.
But look what happened. Talk about resiliency. Capital is more abundant today than ever in the past. Values are mostly near their peak, except for skilled nursing, M&A activity has rocketed, development came on like a run-away train, causing a few train wrecks on the way, and unemployment hit a 50-year low, which is great, unless you are a senior living provider looking for staff. Assisted living may have caused some people to think it is recession resistant, which it was (mostly), but there are other things to worry about besides a recession. Just ask Brookdale Senior Living and Capital Senior Living, whose share prices are still a fraction of what they were.
But in saying good-bye to this past decade, for me it has been wonderful, mostly because of you. I have made so many friends, perhaps a few enemies, but that’s all right. You all have meant so much to me over these past 34 years, and I appreciate all you have done to help me and Ben do our jobs. So, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah to all of you, and have a Happy New Year. See you in the 2020s. Hopefully they will be roaring like 100 years ago, but without the same ending.
