Coronavirus’ effect on small business could hurt real estate, too

Some home buyers move to neighborhoods so they can work at a local business or start their own. Some just want to be in the middle of shops, restaurants, and other amenities and are drawn to areas with specialty stores, theaters, concert halls, or museums. In particular, first-time home buyers, many of whom are millennials, “like the energy of the city, being close to things,” Biello said. A neighborhood’s walkability, a buzz word in urban planning and real estate, depends on businesses being nearby.