The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

M&A mania continues in CRE tech: RDM acquired by Building Engines

Posted: 15 May 2019 04:10 PM PDT

For years, one of the oldest and steadiest players in the commercial real estate tech space watched as upstarts sprang up, raised heaps of venture funding, and engaged in a hectic period of M&A activity. But it has finally been swept up in the wave. Real Data Management, which measures buildings for some of the country’s biggest landlords and helps them keep track of their office space on the cloud, is being acquired by Boston-based […]

“No one should be lending for 30 years in most of Florida,” financial climate analyst warns

Posted: 15 May 2019 03:30 PM PDT

Real estate lenders and investors are ignoring the rising threat that climate change poses in Florida, which could spell disaster for the state’s economy, according to an expert on climate change’s impact on financial markets. By continuing to provide mortgages and by buying long-term debt, financial institutions are ensuring Florida’s economy can “go to hell,” said Spencer Glendon, who studies the impact of climate change around the world, Bloomberg reported. He spoke during an investment […]

Andrew Cuomo and Sandra Lee list New Castle home, Carnegie estate in Millbrook on sale for $14M and more Westchester & Fairfield real estate news

Posted: 15 May 2019 03:00 PM PDT

Sandra Lee, Gov. Cuomo list New Castle home for $2.3M New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his partner of 14 years, Food Network star Sandra Lee, insist that they’re not breaking up, despite news that they’re listing their 1950s-era Colonial mansion in New Castle for $2.3 million, according to the New York Times. Lee said that with the Cuomo children grown up and moved out, the couple no longer needs the three-acre property, which features […]

Related snags $1B refi at Time Warner Center office space

Posted: 15 May 2019 02:55 PM PDT

A Related Companies venture landed a $1.1 billion refinancing deal for its office space at the Time Warner Center. The deal includes a nearly $725 million refinanced mortgage, a $120 million building loan and a $255 million project loan, according to property records filed Wednesday with the city Department of Finance. Wells Fargo is the administrative agent on the deal. Related did not immediately return a request for comment. Wells Fargo declined to comment. A […]

Again, the We Company’s revenue and losses mount

Posted: 15 May 2019 02:45 PM PDT

In providing a window into the We Company’s financial position ahead of a planned initial public offering, the $47 billion company reported $728 million in revenue, more than double that of the first quarter of 2018. Its net losses totaled $264 million, narrowing from $274 million last year, which is partly attributed to a $367 million one-time gain the company realized. But the We Company’s adjusted EBITDA losses more than doubled, increasing to $220 million […]

VirginTrains USA owner sells MiamiCentral office buildings for $159M

Posted: 15 May 2019 02:00 PM PDT

The parent company of VirginTrains USA, Florida East Coast Industries, sold the office portion of its MiamiCentral station for $159.4 million. Coral Gables-based FECI sold the ground floor retail, two office buildings and the parking space at 600 Northwest First Avenue to San Francisco-based Shorenstein, property records show. Wells Fargo provided a $126 million mortgage to Shorenstein Properties to finance the acquisition. The buildings, 2 MiamiCentral and 3 MiamiCentral, are leased to tenants that include […]

Rechler and Tighe on the future of CRE and city politics

Posted: 15 May 2019 01:00 PM PDT

Even if you control some of the city’s preeminent office stock, as Scott Rechler does, beware: If you continue to operate as if it’s the 1990s, your days are numbered. “The world has become much more disrupted by technology,” the RXR Realty boss told CBRE’s Tri-State CEO Mary Ann Tighe at The Real Deal’s showcase Wednesday. “Our industry has been the last to adapt.” Rechler recently struck a revenue-sharing deal with WeWork at his 75 […]

Why does Keller Williams keep launching new lines of business?

Posted: 15 May 2019 12:30 PM PDT

In addition to its residential and commercial brokerage business, which The Real Deal wrote about here, Keller Williams has a growing list of other lines of business — both inside and outside the company. Third-party vendors who work with the company are also given special status by joining an exclusive network. One of those vendors, an owner of KellerPrinters.com, said sales doubled within a year of joining that network. “It’s like winning the lotto,” he […]

LA is reining in the real estate industry. Is it going too far?

Posted: 15 May 2019 12:00 PM PDT

A City Hall-supported ballot initiative that would impose a new square footage tax on properties. A City Council proposal to ban developers seeking project approval from donating to a political campaign. Opposition to a state measure that would increase the density of residential construction but could also force out lower-income residents. Those are some of the measures Los Angeles elected officials are now pushing or pushing against, which would hit the real estate industry particularly […]

Rudins planning for family estate with rare building sales

Posted: 15 May 2019 11:30 AM PDT

Louis Rudinsky famously gave his children the edict to never sell their prized real estate. Of course, most real estate rules have an exception for taxes. The Rudin family, which rarely sells its assets, has now put a second Lower Manhattan office tower up for sale. And sources say the family is looking to sell the properties for estate planning purposes following the death of Jack Rudin in 2016. The Rudins have put the 21-story […]

Silverstein might build 2 WTC on spec

Posted: 15 May 2019 11:00 AM PDT

Since being stood up by Rupert Murdoch in 2016, Larry Silverstein has been searching in vain for an anchor tenant to commit to the final piece of the World Trade Center redevelopment. But if he doesn’t find a suitor, he might be willing to walk down the aisle solo. “Is it a consideration?” he said when asked by The Real Deal publisher Amir Korangy if he would build 2 World Trade Center on spec. “Of […]

Strange bedfellows: Landlords, tenant advocates agree on rent aid legislation

Posted: 15 May 2019 10:00 AM PDT

Landlords and tenant advocates have found something they can agree on: rent aid. In a bid to ward off statewide rent-law reforms being floated in Albany, landlords have sided with tenant advocate groups. At least on one thing. They are supporting a bill that would introduce a rent supplement for eligible residents seeking public assistance, or facing eviction. Currently, eligible residents seeking rental aid can receive a maximum $277 a month for individuals and $400 […]

There goes the neighborhood: Nextdoor social networking app in expansion mode

Posted: 15 May 2019 09:00 AM PDT

A mobile application that is turning neighborhood gossip and events into big business is expanding to more countries overseas. Nextdoor Inc. has secured $123 million from investor Riverwood Capital and others, valuing the company at $2.1 billion. Benchmark, Tiger Global Management and Kleiner Perkins also participated in the latest round. The San Francisco-based company is already operating in the U.S., and plans to use the funding round to expand into Sweden and Denmark. It’s also […]

CalSTRS will acquire Fairfield Residential and its nationwide portfolio

Posted: 15 May 2019 08:30 AM PDT

CalSTRS reportedly plans to buy the apartment company Fairfield Residential from Brookfield Asset Management. CalSTRS, the California state teacher pension fund, will be acquiring a company that manages 43,000 apartments nationwide, including luxury and affordable housing, the publication Pensions & Investments reported. The price was not disclosed. Toronto-based Brookfield bought San Diego-based Fairfield out of bankruptcy in 2010 for about $19 million, according to Reuters. Brookfield and Fairfield closed a $1 billion fund in September […]

CompStak raises $12M in round backed by IA Capital

Posted: 15 May 2019 08:00 AM PDT

UPDATED, 12:50 p.m., May 15: CompStak, the real estate analytics firm that crowdsources leasing and investment-sales comps from brokers, has raised the another $12 million, the company told The Real Deal Wednesday. The analytics firm has now raised $28 million since it launched in 2011. The latest Series B round was led by IA Capital, a New York-based investment firm that has backed insurance and financial technology companies. Michael Mandel, the firm’s CEO and co-founder, […]

The Hotelification of multifamily: Greystar partners with Hello Alfred

Posted: 15 May 2019 07:00 AM PDT

One of the country’s largest residential landlords will partner on building management services with Hello Alfred, a startup that uses technology to determine residents needs. Greystar, the South Carolina-based landlord with more than 450,000 units in the United States, plans to roll out the platform across its entire portfolio, which will provide its multifamily residents with services like pet care, laundry and will purchase groceries through an app. The platform is currently in 200,000 units […]

Fearing Zillow and aggregators, $85M Corcoran team jumps to Compass

Posted: 15 May 2019 06:00 AM PDT

Todd Vitolo and Susanne Columbia — two longtime agents at the Corcoran Group — have quit the firm and joined Compass. Along with six members of their team, the brokerage veterans started at the venture-backed firm on Tuesday, according to Vitolo, who said they moved because they think Compass’ platform will enable them to compete better in a fast-changing industry. “Corcoran was our home; it was our family and we’re going to miss it,” he […]

The We Company launching $2.9B investment fund with backing fromIvanhoe Cambridge

Posted: 15 May 2019 05:47 AM PDT

The We Company’s latest play has been revealed: become its own landlord. The $47 billion flexible-office space startup has launched a private real estate investment arm, ARK, which will buy property and fill it with WeWork services for its enterprise clients, the company said Wednesday. The acquisition platform will have nearly $2.9 billion in equity investment. And Ivanhoe Cambridge, a real estate subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, will provide ARK with […]

Joe Sitt’s Thor wants $370M for Madison Ave retail condo

Posted: 15 May 2019 05:00 AM PDT

Joe Sitt, the face of Manhattan’s high-wire retail scene, is looking to sell one of the city’s priciest shopping destinations. Sitt’s Thor Equities is putting the block-long retail condo at the base of the Carlton House on Madison Avenue’s Gold Coast up for sale, sources told The Real Deal. The asking price is $370 million, or close to $11,000 per square foot. If the property trades at that price, it would put it in the […]

Keller’s second coming: Gary Keller’s plan to ward off rivals

Posted: 15 May 2019 04:30 AM PDT

On a recent early-morning flight to New Orleans, a flight attendant with an acute sense of comedic timing landed a zinger: “I am looking to sell a house, can anyone assist me?” The joke was met with immediate laughs from a group of Keller Williams agents, some in matching T-shirts, others carrying swag adorned with the company’s bright red logo — all headed to the firm’s annual “Family Reunion.” At this year’s mid-February conference, 17,000 […]

Preferred equity plays are on the rise, but what’s the catch?

Posted: 15 May 2019 04:00 AM PDT

For developer Ian Bruce Eichner, who famously lost his Cosmopolitan hotel project in Las Vegas during the financial crisis, investing in real estate has been something of a tightrope act. When Eichner bet on Manhattan’s luxury condo market with his 83-unit Flatiron project at the peak of the cycle, he turned to preferred equity players Dune Real Estate Partners and Fortress Investment Group — both known for seeking out high returns. And after a drawn-out […]