Austin Lai

Austin Lai | Design Smart. Sell Strong.

Austin is a licensed New York City real estate agent with an architecture-trained lens, helping clients make clear, strategic decisions at the intersection of value, aesthetics, and market timing. He studies the fundamentals: offering plans, layout efficiency, light and window orientation, to understand what a home is today and what it can realistically command in the current market.

Austin is a graduate of The Cooper Union, where he studied architecture with a minor in art history. He brings particular expertise in value-add renovation and listing preparation, identifying the highest-return improvements, often in kitchens, baths, lighting, and finishes, while keeping scope, budget, and disruption tightly controlled. When renovations make sense, he helps owners prioritize upgrades that photograph well, show well, and support resale; when they don’t, he focuses on positioning, presentation, and pricing to win the market as-is.

Originally from Taipei, Austin attended boarding school in London before moving to New York for college. He has lived in the city for seven years and resides in the Gramercy Park neighborhood.