NEW YORK—Commercial real estate was hit hard by the coronavirus early on, introducing an unprecedented level of disruption. To find out how commercial and residential real estate professionals are faring amid the pandemic, PropertyShark surveyed NYC-based professionals to see how they're experiencing the situation on the ground, how they're adapting and planning for the future, and where they see opportunities emerging.

It found that only 8% of respondents from the commercial real estate industry reported being minimally affected or not at all affected by COVID-19. On the residential side, the effects have been even harsher, with only 3% of those surveyed reporting few or no disruptions. Overall, about one-third of respondents reported being completely shut down—32% of residential and 36% of commercial professionals were not operational.

However, it went on to note, as with many industries, most of the city's real estate professionals rallied under the necessary lockdown measures: 55% of commercial respondents experienced significant disruptions but adapted to stay mostly or partially open, with 65% of their peers on the residential side in the same situation.

Residential real estate professionals in New York City seem to have been affected to a higher degree than commercial real estate professionals in deal-making, PropertyShark also concluded. It found that 66% of residential professionals reported declines in new business and 64% saw deals postponed, compared to 53% and 48%, respectively, of commercial professionals.

Furthermore, 40% of residential professionals have had buyers pull out of deals and 33% have had showings canceled due to the pandemic. In the commercial sector, respondents noted similar levels of buyers backing out of deals and showings—43% and 31%, respectively.

There was a noticeable difference among NYC sellers though. While 37% of residential professionals said sellers removed properties from the market, commercial sellers seemed more resilient to the choppy economic landscape. Only 24% of commercial professionals said sellers pulled their assets from the market.

PropertyShark conducted a flash survey with 97 residential and 99 commercial real estate professionals based in New York City from April 8 to 23, 2020, through SurveyMonkey.

Instant Insights /

Survey Takes Pulse of New York City Real Estate Professionals

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