L train shutdown is Uber’s “wet dream”

Reporters discuss what the disruption could mean for the real estate market

The coming L train shutdown, now all but certain, is likely to hit Williamsburg rents hard, reducing them as much as 15 percent, The Real Deal‘s Hiten Samtani told BRIC TV earlier this week when he appeared along with DNAinfo’s Gwynne Hogan. The sales market though, will remain largely unaffected as buyers “play the long game,” he said.

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The Brooklyn-Manhattan line’s closure is also likely to affect another segment of the real estate world: Airbnb and other short term rental services. “Hosts” on these services, who habitually advertise units 15 minutes from Manhattan – “That’s never true, but it’ll be even more untrue,” Samtani said – are likely to see demand slide. Mobile ride hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, though, are likely to see a big boost, he said. [BRIC TV]Ariel Stulberg