Urbanexus Update - Issue #100
H. Pike Oliver compiles this weekly update of real estate and community development news focused primarily on the USA. The inclusion of an article does not imply endorsement. And please note that some links may lead to items that are behind a paywall.
This week, the selected articles are all about the coronavirus.
Coronavirus and real estate Real estate is getting hurt in different ways across different sectors. The impacts to housing, hotels, retail, office and warehouse vary from region to region.
Immediate and long-term effects of the coronavirus Slowdown in transactions, denominator effect and the acceleration of long-term structural shifts
Why landlords might need a coronavirus bailout Some renters and homeowners are getting financial assistance during the economic disruption from the coronavirus pandemic. What about landlords?
Freddie and Fannie enact 90-day financial relief plans
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have separately announced nationwide initiatives to provide financial relief for their multifamily borrowers and tenants affected by the outbreak of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). The two government-sponsored enterprises are enacting programs that allow their borrowers to defer monthly payments for up to 90 days by showing hardship as a consequence of COVID-19 and by gaining lender approval. Participants in the program must agree to not evict their renters who are facing financial hardship due to the current health crisis. The agencies anticipate the initiatives could impact more than 54,000 apartment communities across the country.
Layoffs start as Seattle hotel occupancy rates tumble
businesses with hotels emptying out due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Some downtown Seattle hotels are reporting a 40 to 60 percent decline in occupancy, according to the Downtown Seattle Association. The Washington Hospitality Association (WHA) reports it's worse for one chain with occupancy rates down to between just 4 and 10 percent.
How NIMBYs are making the coronavirus worse Why would residents block a Covid-19 testing site? For the same reason many oppose other forms of neighborhood change: a desire to shift the burden elsewhere.
Nurses face eviction due to coronavirus
Around the world, health-care workers have reported growing harassment and discrimination since the coronavirus crisis started. A top administrator at the Royal College of Nursing recently tweeted about British nurses being heckled, verbally abused, and called “disease spreaders” on the street. Essentially, they are seen as walking "Petri dishes.”
Builders say coronavirus hurting traffic — eyeonhousing.org In a survey conducted by NAHB online in recent days, 81 percent of respondents said the coronavirus has had an adverse effect on traffic of prospective buyers.
Student housing and coronavirus
The coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a widespread impact on the off-campus student housing industry. Many off-campus owners and operators are grappling with a growing number of universities canceling in-person classes, and in some instances, ordering students to vacate their campuses and residence halls altogether.
Coronavirus and the future of living and working
Ever since classical times, pandemics have tended to be especially tough on large, dense urban areas. A look at a map of COVID-19 infections, reveals that the vast majority of cases have occurred in dense cities, like Wuhan, and later on around Milan, and, to a lesser extent, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Boston. In contrast there has been very little incidence in vast middle of country and particularly more rural areas, which benefit from less crowding and unwanted human contact, which now may be even more attractive to urban workers.
What a coronavirus recovery could look like Urban resilience expert Michael Berkowitz shares ideas about how U.S. cities can come back stronger from the social and economic disruption of coronavirus.