Commerce and real estate getting back to business

Owego is always changing. While it has one foot in tradition, Owego seems to always move forward towards something new. Every once and a while old buildings receive a face-lift, and abandoned shops revitalize into new business. Owego is one of the few towns that seem to have a life independent of multiple corporations or colleges. 

COVID, however, presented businesses with a different challenge altogether. The news told horror stories of businesses closing and lives lost. People were understandably scared of what the future held.

Since those frantic nights cradling toilet paper and paper-thin masks, the CDC and New York State Government have loosened the leash. According to CDC data, as of June 1, 135 million Americans have been vaccinated. That is 41% of the entire United States population. 

New York State is above the national average at 70 percent of residents receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. Due to these numbers, restrictions have been lifted, and less people are getting sick. 

So, as we leave our storm shelters, it is time to critically observe the damage COVID has caused to the economy and some of the effects it will have for the coming years.

When discussing COVID and business, it is important to consider two sectors: retail and real estate. These sectors encompass two very different, but important parts of our local economy. When scanning over these sectors with a critical eye, we see that retail and real estate had differing experiences during the pandemic.

The small business sector was hit hard – very hard. According to a research paper done by the National Academy of Sciences, COVID reached Great Depression levels of turmoil. While the unemployment rate never reached the astronomical 25.6% of the Great Depression, it was too close for comfort.

Small businesses employ about half of Americans in the work force. So, when small businesses closed during the pandemic, employment drastically dropped, reflecting an unhealthy economy.

Jim Mead, proprietor of the Early Owego Antique Center, recounted those dark early days of the pandemic. 

Mead recalled, “We were shut down for 10 weeks, like most people were.” 

Retail stores took a big hit during the pandemic. Most small retail stores didn’t have the resources to run an online store during the early months of the shutdown. No one knew what was happening and how long it would last.

When things finally did start to open up once again, there were still a lot of bills that needed to be paid before the small businesses could open up again. 

Jim Mead expressed gratitude, too, stating, “The Paycheck Protection Program funding was a big help from the Small Business Administration.” 

Jim Mead made it past a tough challenge – opening shop. But some were not nearly as fortunate. 

During the first three months of the pandemic, 400,000 businesses closed, nationally. While that was less than the predicted amount by experts earlier in the year, it still resulted in 200,000 more closures than the average from previous years. Many businesses that did stay afloat, like Jim Mead’s store, point to the PPP loans as a lifesaver. It provided a catalyst for struggling entrepreneurs.

For Jim Mead and his business, reopening was a positive experience. He said the Early Owego Antique Center saw “quite strong sales”. 

But the new cleaning protocols provided challenges. The CDC guidelines were necessary, but they placed a difficult hurdle in front of entrepreneurs. It required employees to be vigilant and it made owners extra cautious. 

But Jim Mead took the cleaning challenge in full stride. He saw a positive increase in employee and management communication as his team tried to figure a way to protect themselves and the customers. He said of his employees, “[They] did it [cleaning protocols] not because they had to, but because they wanted to protect themselves and their families as well as the clientele and vendors.”

While retail stores saw a dip in sales, real estate experienced something wholly different. 

Francis Evans, local property manager in Owego, realized a huge change in people during the pandemic. When the pandemic first hit the United States, she noticed “everything was quiet”. Much like Jim Mead, Francis Evans had difficulty renting any of her properties. But after a while, something unexpected happened.

While people were locked indoors, they had time to evaluate their homes and what they wanted out of their future. While COVID caused a huge drop in real estate, at first, it has now reached levels well above pre-pandemic life. Francis Evans believed that the buying and selling frenzy is in partly due to a desire to be home. 

She stated, “People want to be near their families, they want to be home.”

For many, the pandemic was a wakeup call. People had time to figure out their lives and reevaluate the expectations they set for themselves. Work has changed. Many were forced to work from home.

So people wanted their homes to feel like, well, home! But moving and selling property is not easy. 

So, how did Francis Evans market the apartments when everyone was locked indoors? Luckily she solved her problem with technology and a little luck. She stated, in a recent interview, “In order to sell our apartments, we were lucky we had virtual tours already in place. They provided a 360 degree view of the whole apartment.” 

COVID was pretty terrible. I know, preaching to the choir. But in that turmoil, there was good — not fantastic or even great, but good. People moved closer to their families and the housing market has exploded to new levels. 

Retail storeowners needed to band together with their employees. The community needed to work together in order to make a bad time just a bit better.

While the pandemic was inarguably a terrible time for everyone, it did change our perspectives and force us to sympathize with one another. 

As a whole, Owego saw the benefits of that change. Owego is full of community and traditions. And while those traditions change, the community is all the town needs to continue to be something very magical.