The New York Times - USA (2020-10-25)

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2020

LI

OWNERS RENTERS RENOVATORS

7 LIVING IN

In Washington, Conn.,

‘people come here to chill.’

8 SHOPPING GUIDE

When looking for a bed,

it’s best to think big.

4 RIGHT AT HOME

Do you miss the days

(and crowds) of a commute?

8 THE HUNT

A doorman and room for a

piano are their must-haves.

In 2015, when Dacia and Lanham Napier
were touring Austin, Texas, with a real es-
tate agent, they weren’t looking for a home
— they were searching for office space in
the tech-centric city for Mr. Napier, the chief
executive of the investment firm Build-
Group and the former chief executive of
Rackspace Technology.

The couple lived in San Antonio, about 80

miles south, but “I happened to mention to

the real estate agent that Lanham’s dream

has always been to have someplace on a

lake,” said Ms. Napier, 49, a radiologist.

“Well, she called me the next day.”

The agent wanted to show them a house

in the Tarrytown neighborhood, about three

miles from downtown Austin. It wasn’t ex-

actly on a lake, but it was close, with a back-

yard that descended to Taylor Slough, an in-

let of Lake Austin, which is part of the Col-

orado River.

Ms. Napier was skeptical, but they went

to see it anyway. And it struck a chord. They

liked that the low-slung brick house ap-

peared to be a bungalow from the street but

descended to a second level buried in the

hill. They also loved that it had water access

and was a short drive from the airport and

offices where Mr. Napier planned to work.

“For all the stuff that we do, it’s pretty

darn convenient,” said Mr. Napier, 50. “And

I’ll tell you what, it’s an awesome neighbor-

hood to take a walk in.”

It didn’t bother them that the 3,600-

square-foot, 1960s house had been renovat-

ed in a style that was more traditional than

A Home Renovated for Work and Art

For a tech investor and a

radiologist, multifunctional

spaces were a priority.

Dacia and Lanham Napier bought a traditional-looking brick house about three

miles from downtown Austin, Texas, in 2015 and turned it into a modernist home.

DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN

ON LOCATION AUSTIN, TEXAS

By TIM McKEOUGH

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

companies are downsizing and fewer peo-

ple are commuting, setting the stage for a

new reckoning over personal and business

priorities.

Real estate is everyone’s business in New

York City. The industry generated nearly

$32 billion in taxes last year, 53 percent of

the city’s tax revenue, and it employed more

than 275,000 people, according to the Real

Estate Board of New York and labor statis-

tics. An inveterate source of obsession,

envy and frustration, real estate colors the

aspirations and agendas of countless peo-

ple, companies and policymakers.

So how the industry weathers an unpar-

alleled economic collapse fueled by a global

pandemic will reshape not just the chroni-

cally underfunded public housing system

and the overbuilt luxury condominium mar-

ket, but also virtually every aspect of urban

life.

To assess what might happen in the next

year or two, The New York Times inter-

viewed nearly 50 people, including former

senior city officials, real estate executives,

affordable housing advocates, urban plan-

ners and brokers.

When will the real estate market recover,

and what will it look like in terms of supply,

demand and prices?

Will New Yorkers be more open to devel-

opment in their neighborhoods, or will they

be even more resistant?

How will housing, transportation, retail

and commercial real estate be affected in

the broader New York region?

The outlook is daunting. Unemployment

in New York City is still 14 percent, after hit-

ting 20 percent in June and July. The hotel

occupancy rate is 39 percent, down from 95

percent this time last year, according to the

research firm STR. Roughly one-third of the

city’s 240,000 small businesses may never

reopen, and iconic retailers like Neiman

Marcus are closing.

Residential real estate sales plummeted

40 percent in July, and 57 percent in August,

compared with 2019, according to the New

York City Comptroller’s Office. Commercial

sales were down 28 and 43 percent in July

When the Smoke Clears

Key stakeholders weigh in on how the pandemic could

change New York’s housing markets, land use and policy.

By DAVID W. CHEN and STEFANOS CHEN

One in five New York City tenants did not pay rent in September, by one estimate, and there is

growing concern of “an eviction tsunami.” ¶ As apartment vacancies climb, sale prices and rents are

falling, but nowhere near the magnitude needed to compensate for scarce affordable housing op-

tions. ¶ And while the flight of affluent residents to the suburbs appears to be overstated, major

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

ANDREW KELLY/REUTERS

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