A 'smorgasbord of roommates' becomes the new normal in NYC amid COVID-19: 'Thousand Dollar Listing' Host

‘Thousand Dollar Listing’ host and creator Noah Kaplan joins Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous and Brian Sozzi to discuss how the New York City real estate landscape will change after COVID-19, and where the production industry is headed.

Video Transcript

BRIAN SOZZI: Existing home sales falling nearly 18% month-on-month, the most since July 2010. Across the country, city dwellers are fleeing to suburbs to seek some coronavirus relief. But could these moves forever change the real estate landscape?

Joining us now is Noah Kaplan. He's the host of "Thousand Dollar Listing," a show that helps New York City residents find affordable housing and other options. Noah, where do you find these $1,000 listings? Do they exist?

NOAH KAPLAN: I'll tell you, Brian, they're-- they're plentiful. They are out there. You know, if you divide up an apartment, you know, if it's a four-- four bedroom apartment, you could-- you could rent it outright, or you could get a bunch of millennials, Gen Z, or any-- any age group, for that matter, to come and move in there, and they become a "Brady Bunch." I mean, it's great.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: OK, I don't know. I was never into the whole "Brady Bunch" kind of living dynamic, Noah, but I hear you. What about rents in New York City in big populated cities like New York during this pandemic, are you seeing rents starting to come down? And if so, do you think it's something that might last for a while post this pandemic?

NOAH KAPLAN: I do. I do-- first of all, yes, to answer your question, rents are definitely coming down. We've actually seen in the last, you know, just in the last week, we've seen rents come down from some of the major brokerages renting rooms in Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, even maybe Staten Island. I'm not exactly sure about Manhattan.

But I will say that yeah, it's something that will probably last at least for a few years because leases, as everyone knows, leases go for at least a year, or two, or probably more, depending on if someone lands an incredible dig. So yeah, absolutely. I think prices are coming down a little bit, and I actually see that continuing at least in the near term.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Now, there's been talk about this sort of great exodus out of cities and into the suburbs and rural areas where people can make it work for themselves. Perhaps this is more indicative in the market where people are buying as opposed to renting. But what are you seeing on the ground? Are more people talking about just leaving the city altogether, even if they don't have kids?

NOAH KAPLAN: I think that's a mixed bag. I think some people-- some people are moving out and some people are moving in. It just depends on how, you know, quite frankly, how scared people are. Some people tend to be a little bit on the scarier side. But you know, I'm noticing a lot of-- there's a lot of increased action on the market in the last two or three weeks. People are reaching out, and they're looking for rooms and apartments.

So we're noticing, actually quite the contrary, we're noticing a lot of people are starting-- they're starting to feel less anxiety, in fact. It just depends on the personality type, people, and population. Some people are, depending also where they work, if they're feeling more pressure in their-- in their job situation, maybe they would be more inclined to move out of the city because it's more expensive here, quite frankly.

BRIAN SOZZI: Noah, is that what you're seeing, the creation of more "Brady Bunch" type households? Because of this COVID-19 pandemic, are you seeing people rent, 10-plus people stuffed in an apartment, each paying what, $75 a month?

NOAH KAPLAN: Not quite $75 a month. We're looking at-- we're looking at, I would say, roughly, if you're looking at hot neighborhoods like Bushwick, you know, Bed-Stuy, and sort of east of Prospect Park, especially in Brook-- [AUDIO OUT] are hot right now, if they continue to be, yeah, prices could be somewhere between, I mean, depending on if you get a really good deal, somewhere upwards of $700 a month for a room in an apartment that might have several bedrooms and one bath.

And-- and prior to COVID, you know, if there's one bath, people sort of scoff at that. Oh, you can't just- how do you have four or five people sharing a bathroom? Well, it's not really a big deal. I mean, that's-- that's a first world problem. And especially in a COVID time like this, people are easing up on some of that.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: You know, I know that "Thousand Dollar Listing," I believe, is still looking for a home on-- on a network.

NOAH KAPLAN: Sure.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Were you-- were you able to even produce all of your shows, because we know production has come to a halt as well? So are the shows sort of in the can, as they say? And are you shopping it around right now?

NOAH KAPLAN: Really, thank you so much for asking me, Alexis. You know, we are actively searching for the right home to broadcast season one. It just so happens, I guess maybe from the luck of the universe or whatnot, luck is on our side because we did film 95% of our show of season one prior to COVID.

So it's just, you know, small little edits about, you know, testimonials in my room, literally. Where I'm sitting right now, this is where I- I do testimonials for the show. So we're sitting on an entire season one. We're looking for the right partner to broadcast season one. And I appreciate you asking that question, because we would love to find the right place. Hopefully, complex advice just to put it out there.

BRIAN SOZZI: All right, let's leave it there. Noah Kaplan, host of "Thousand Dollar Listing." I'm rooting for you to find a home for your show. And I think you had the quote of the day, "one bedroom is a first world problem." That's a-- yeah, well said.

NOAH KAPLAN: Absolutely. And look, at a time like now, it's really-- and a lot of people are feeling lonely, what better than to have a smorgasbord of roommates, who you can enjoy time with and, by the way, who are COVID-free. And you can feel safe in your own home, wearing your mask when you go out, but coming back home and feeling very comfortable and having a good time with good friends, good company.

BRIAN SOZZI: All right, well said.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: A smorgasbord of roommates. There's another phrase for the show today. All right, thank you, Noah.

BRIAN SOZZI: All right, thanks so much, Noah.

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

NOAH KAPLAN: You got it. Take care.