Jacques Poujade is one of the top real estate investors and advisors of the time. With over 30 years of experience under his belt, Poujade is managing partner at LendsPlus, a real estate financing firm that helps homeowners make their property investment dreams come true.

There is no doubt that 2020 was an unusual year in the real estate world. That being said, we caught up with Poujade to get his insights on the current of the real estate market and where we might be headed in 2021

How did COVID-19 alter the course of the real estate market?

The global pandemic definitely changed how people lived. Overall, everyone is spending a lot more time at home due to remote work and lockdown restrictions. That being said, I still saw a big shift in the real estate market.

More people moved out of metropolitan areas and to more unique, exotic locations they couldn’t experience before because they were anchored to their office’s location.

Why is property investing a safe choice for investors even in uncertain times?

If you’re unsure about whether property investing is a good idea, remember that it is a lot more stable than the stock market. People will always need a place to live, even in the midst of a global pandemic.

You also have a lot more control with an investment property – you put in the work from renovations to marketing. In essence, what you give is what you get.

Will mortgage rates be on the rise in 2021?

With the pandemic, we saw mortgage rates hit a record low for the first time in a long time. This has been a blessing and a curse – it has allowed a lot of people to invest in properties they were never able to afford before.

Though the economy is expected to improve in 2021, we will probably see mortgage rates continue to stay on the lower side throughout the course of the next year.

Should people purchase a home in 2021?

Despite the low mortgage rates, home prices are still inflated. That means that the inventory on the market is limited and sellers are charging whatever they want.

However, if things really do improve in the next year, I think that 2021 will be a better time to make the purchase you’ve been planning for.

What is one trend you know will carry on into 2021?

I think so. The house flipping trend will carry into the new year. COVID-19 has forced people to get creative with making an income, and house flipping is a great way to do so.

I’m seeing a lot of millennials jumping on this real estate trend. Their creative spirit and work-from-home lifestyles allow them to pursue home-flipping as a side gig. This is also a more stable investment, especially if you’re young and don’t have a lot of money.

Related Reading:
Jacques Poujade: Millennial Real Estate Trends to Watch
The Best Way for Millennials to Start Investing in Real Estate in 2020

If you’re working from home, you’re not alone. In fact, more employees are working remotely now more than ever. Because of the benefits to both employers and employees, the number of employees working from home is likely to increase.

For example, employees save time and money when they don’t have to commute; they don’t spend as much on business wardrobes or eating at restaurants; and they have much more flexibility overall than if they had to travel to an office.

Many employees appreciate the greater sense of autonomy, the ability to control their work environment, and the opportunity to spend more time with their families. Remote employees also save their employers money. Smaller office spaces usually cost less than larger ones and overhead is generally lower as the number of remote employees increases.

While nearly all employees are happy to give up their commutes, there are tradeoffs to working remotely. It can be isolating for people — especially those who identify as extroverts. It can also be difficult to draw boundaries between work and home life. Many people are easily distracted while working at home — whether by family or chores around the house — and may find it harder to collaborate with or stay connected with co-workers.

Another issue that affects employers and employees is how to manage the performance of remote staff. When employees work on-site, it’s easier to keep tabs on what types of work they are performing, offer feedback, and stay connected. Managing the performance of remote employees may take extra effort, but it can be done efficiently and fairly.

For example, remote employees should be given specific work requirements so they know what is expected of them. That may include their daily schedule and hours (and whether or not those hours are flexible), and allotted time for lunch. Regular check-ins between managers and employees can help team members stay on track and allow managers to better assess the type of work employees are performing and the quality of that work.

Managers should also be proactive in giving feedback, recognizing that remote employees rely on it to judge their performance and progress. Regular communication can also help alleviate employees’ feelings of isolation and reduce work-related stress.

For more information about managing remote employees, check out the infographic below.

Author Bio: Sara Drake is Director of Marketing for Advanced Resources, a talent solutions organization headquartered in Chicago. Drake, who has 15 years of experience in the industry, focuses on talent solutions through staffing, consulting and workforce solutions.

While it is true that today’s employees put more stock in intangible things – like feeling valued by their bosses – a new survey confirms that benefits still play an important role in worker satisfaction. In fact, employee benefits keep workers in place. The survey suggests that a strong benefits package is one of the best ways to retain top talent.

Insurance brokers and general agencies have their work cut out for them as open enrollment approaches. Standard health insurance is still a top priority. However, ancillary benefits should play a larger role this year than they have in the past. Companies offering a larger basket of ancillary benefits should be better positioned to compete for talent.

Benefits a Reason to Stay

The previously mentioned survey, conducted by Prudential Financial, showed that some 77% of all employees consider benefits a key part of their total compensation. More importantly, 73% say that their benefits are a big reason for staying at their jobs. That is up from 59% one year ago.

Such a large jump may be partly explained by the coronavirus crisis. As people are fearful about their own health and that of their families, health insurance benefits become so much more important. Any additional benefits are icing on the cake. Employees do not want to lose those benefits, so they commit themselves to staying at their current jobs.

In terms of ancillary benefits, are there things employers can do to raise the stakes? Absolutely. It starts with contacting the company’s health insurance broker to find out what non-health benefits are on the table.

Financial Wellness Benefits

Among the most cited non-health benefits employees say could keep them at their jobs are those that somehow relate to financial wellness. In other words, employees enjoy peace of mind when they are protected against certain types of financial hardship. They are looking for benefits like disability insurance, life insurance, and retirement savings.

Disability insurance is a big one. We all know that government disability payments are not all that generous. Too many stories of disabled workers not being able to pay their bills leaves employees fearful of an accident or illness that would keep them out of work. Disability insurance can ease those fears.

Life insurance is another peace of mind benefit. Employees with affordable life insurance can protect their loved ones against lost income and high burial costs should they die before retirement age. Not having to pay the total cost of life insurance can ease financial stress as well.

Other Ancillary Benefits

Benefits like dental plans and disability insurance can be obtained through an employer’s health insurance broker via its general agency. But such benefits are not the be-all and end-all of ancillary benefits. Employers can look at other options that have nothing to do with insurance.

In a blog posted early in 2020, Dallas-based BenefitMall detailed a few of the expected trends in employee benefits for 2020. Among them is rising interest in student loan benefits. Employers wanting to give their workers something extra are offering to help them repay their student loans through payroll deductions and matching contributions.

A student debt reduction benefit is definitely a financial wellness benefit that can reduce employee stress. After all, how many employees worry that they will never get their student loans paid off? A benefit to help them do just that can go a long way toward improving mental health and productivity.

Employees stay at their jobs for lots of reasons. But there is no denying that benefits packages continue to be one of the most important factors. Workers say so themselves.

Sometimes aerospace sensors don’t do exactly what they should. Such is the case with some of Boeing’s angle of attack vanes, the sensors thought to be responsible for two 2019 crashes involving the 787 Max. Boeing could add new sensors to give the angle of attack vanes more redundancy, but they believe they have a workaround that is equally effective but less costly.

An angle of attack vane is essentially a wind vane that measures airflow and compares it against a fixed reference point. It is used in aerospace design to measure the amount of lift an aircraft is achieving at any given point during a flight. A lack of lift can be deadly.

Boeing’s Angle of Attack Problem

Boeing had trouble with the sensors on their 787 Max due to faulty readings that were warning of a nonexistent stall condition. Pilots, trying to correct for the false stall condition, can inadvertently put the aircraft into an uncontrollable dive. That is how the two 2019 crashes occurred.

Once the problem was discovered, the FAA implemented a new rule requiring all commercial airlines to address potential problems with angle of attack vanes. The system Boeing now proposes for the 787 Max has been tested and approved for other Boeing aircraft. Airbus has also used it on one of their planes.

Adopting the system allows Boeing to avoid having to develop more expensive sensors. The system relies on technology taken from drones and spacecraft. While simple in principle, it is somewhat complicated to implement. Still, Boeing thinks it is cheaper than developing new sensors to increase angle of attack redundancy.

A Ton of Signal Processing

The system Boeing wants to use is known as the synthetic air data system. It relies on existing sensors to collect data that is then fed into a computer system and analyzed by algorithms. Those algorithms return data similar to what additional sensors mounted on the aircraft would return. In essence, Boeing’s system is a software simulation of additional hardware sensors.

Boeing says the system would reap benefits over and above providing redundancy for angle of attack vanes. They say it would increase overall aircraft safety, especially in relation to problems caused by confusing signals in the cockpit.

What Boeing proposes is fundamentally a matter of signal processing. Rather than bringing more sensors into the equation, they want to take data they can already collect, run it through some advanced signal processing systems, and return more accurate data which ultimately makes planes safer.

Better Data to Prevent Crashes

The goal of the synthetic air data system is to provide better data to prevent crashes. According to California’s Rock West Solutions, signal processing goals are similar. Signal processing systems are continually improved for the purposes of generating better data. Perhaps better data could have prevented the two crashes that grounded the 787 Max.

Those two crashes were the direct result of poor data generated by faulty angle of attack vanes. Unfortunately, other on-board systems were not able to counteract that faulty data, leading pilots to believe they were at risk of stalling the aircraft. Perhaps they would have made better decisions had they been given better data.

Boeing now waits to see if they will get full approval to implement the system for the 787 Max. If they do, the plane could be back in the skies by the end of the year. If not, it might be back to the drawing board for Boeing engineers. They may be left with no other choice but to invest in new sensors to provide the necessary redundancy.