Coronavirus is clobbering the real estate industry. From a frenzy of flex-office layoffs to iBuyers pressing pause, here's everything you need to know.
- Offices, hotels, and malls have been emptied by the coronavirus, which could lead to more than 18 months of disruption in our day-to-day lives.
- The crisis has hit venture-backed real estate startups hard, with flex-space providers like Knotel and Convene, short-term rental operators like Sonder and Zeus Living, and brokerage Compass all announcing layoffs and furloughs.
- It has also provided the largest experiment ever in remote work. Some real estate experts think that it might be a paradigm shift that forever changes our relationships with the physical office.
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The coronavirus has thrown the real estate world into disarray, as people empty out of offices, hotels, and malls and work from their homes. The spread of the virus and the economic disruptions that have followed are changing how people finance, operate, and occupy real estate.
We've been tracking a slew of layoffs in the venture-backed real estate world, as empty short-term rentals and coworking spaces have hit once-buzzy industries hard. We are also keeping tabs on what experts are saying about the industry, and the future of offices as the virus has created the biggest experiment in remote work ever.
Have a tip about layoffs or major changes in this space? Contact this reporter through the secure messaging app Signal at +1 (646) 768-4772 using a non-work phone, email at anicoll@businessinsider.com, or Twitter DM at @AlexONicoll. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.
Here's everything we know right now:
Companies react and lay workers off- Flex-space unicorn Knotel just laid off 30% of workers and furloughed another 20% as the coronavirus cripples a once buzzy industry
- Days after laying off 20% of its workforce, Brookfield-backed Convene furloughs more than half of remaining employees due to coronavirus closures
- Brookfield-backed Convene just laid off 20% of its workforce as the coronavirus upends the flex-space and events industries
- Airbnb-backed Zeus Living just laid off 30% of staff as the coronavirus upends travel and hospitality startups
- The coronavirus is slamming iBuyers, and firms like Zillow and SoftBank-backed Opendoor are halting their capital-intensive home-flipping businesses
- SoftBank-backed real estate brokerage Compass just slashed 15% of staff and is pausing marketing as coronavirus slams the housing market
- Hospitality startup Sonder is pushing ahead with plans to open its largest NYC apartment hotel yet as coronavirus cripples the travel industry
- 7 charts show how the coronavirus could clobber real estate, from retail vacancies of nearly 15% to plunging office rents in Texas cities
- Real-estate services giant JLL explains how the coronavirus could usher in a permanent 'paradigm shift' towards more remote work
