The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Manhattan condo inventory through September 2019

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 03:00 PM PST

New development condo report Manhattan • Inventory contracted as developers filed fewer units than were purchased • Developers filed four plans with a total of 41 units • The state approved one plan with 11 units valued at $30.5 million • Buyers purchased 112 units valued at $472 million Supply Demand

Extra, extra: New York Times buying back its building!

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 02:50 PM PST

The New York Times plans to buy back its Manhattan headquarters at 620 Eighth Avenue in December for $245 million, the paper reported on Wednesday. The Times purchased the 52-story building for $619 million and moved into it in 2007. It entered into a sale-leaseback agreement just two years later and raised $225 million to help pay down its debts. The agreement included a 2019 option to buy back the building. The deal began with

Has Compass eased recruiting?

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 02:48 PM PST

After getting pummeled by Compass’ aggressive recruiting, Realogy Holdings says its rival is letting up. Four months after filing a wide-ranging lawsuit accusing Compass of “predatory” poaching, Realogy CEO Ryan Schneider described a dramatic drop in Compass’ hiring. During an earnings call, Schneider said the firm’s “recruiting intensity” in October was down almost 50 percent from September and 67 percent from August. “Something changed in the ecosystem and I think it’s the investor focus on

Unizo strikes a deal to sell trophy Manhattan property

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 02:20 PM PST

Japan’s Unizo Holdings has come to an agreement to sell the crown jewel in the $1.3 billion portfolio it’s been unloading amid a hostile takeover attempt back in Tokyo. The real estate private equity firm BentallGreenOak has been awarded the deal to buy Unizo’s Midtown East office tower at 685 Third Avenue, sources told The Real Deal. The price of the sale is in the mid $400 million range, according to sources. A representative for

Zillow iBuying revenue soars — but losses mount

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 02:10 PM PST

Zillow’s revenue doubled to a record $745.2 million during the third quarter, driven by its year-old iBuying program. For the first time since the Seattle-based company launched an instant home-buying feature, revenue from its “Homes” segment eclipsed that of agent advertising. During the third quarter, home buying generated $384.6 million in revenue, up 55 percent from the second quarter. (Zillow Offers yielded just $11 million during last year’s third quarter.) But the company’s losses also

Regulators quietly change stance on condos in LLC law

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 01:30 PM PST

A state law prohibiting anonymous property ownership through LLCs has been quietly altered after pushback from the industry. The law, passed in September, required LLCs involved in residential real estate transactions to disclose the identities of all owners, managers and agents associated with the company. The language in the original bill suggested the law was limited to buildings containing one to four units, however a state guidance issued later that month said it applied to

Some builders upset as voters add red tape to projects

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 01:15 PM PST

Much of the excitement around New York’s election Tuesday centered on the approval of ranked choice voting, but passage of a down-ballot question affecting projects has drawn the ire of some developers. The measure requires the Department of City Planning to give the relevant borough president, borough board and community board a detailed summary of projects subject to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure at least 30 days before the ULURP application is certified for

Building buy near Facebook-Apple battleground hints at big project

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 12:33 PM PST

The developer who built Netflix’s Manhattan offices is now making a play across the street from where Facebook and Apple are fighting for some of Manhattan’s choicest office space. Normandy Real Estate Partners signed a contract to acquire the leasehold on the drab, stained-brick building at 320 West 31st Street across the street from the James A. Farley Post Office for $88 million, sources told The Real Deal. The nearly 150,000-square-foot building is occupied by

Real estate data firm Reonomy hauls in $60M

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 11:24 AM PST

New York–based real estate data firm Reonomy has raised another $60 million. The company, which provides information on close to 50 million properties across the U.S., said Thursday that Canadian firm Georgian Partners had led the series D funding round. The venture investment arms of major banks Citi and Wells Fargo also joined the round, as did existing investor Sapphire Ventures. The firm, which was launched in 2013 by Rich Sarkis, has now raised $128

VC-backed brokerage Side raises $35M for national expansion

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 10:28 AM PST

UPDATED: November 7, 4:50 p.m.: Side, a VC-backed brokerage that provides white-label tools to agents who run their own businesses, has raised $35 million to fuel its national expansion. The Series C, led by Paul Levine of Sapphire Ventures, brings Side’s total funding to more than $60 million, the company said. Founded in 2017, the San Francisco-based brokerage currently has 500 agents in California and Texas, who it said are on track to close $8

Why Gaw Capital is big on LA while other Chinese firms retreat

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 09:00 AM PST

If the prevailing wisdom is that a) retail real estate is suffering and b) Chinese investment is on the wane, then Goodwin Gaw’s recent investment is a head-scratcher. Over the summer, his real-estate-focused private equity firm, Hong Kong-based Gaw Capital, bought the L.A. shopping center Hollywood and Highland for $325 million. That it was the country’s largest single-address retail transaction outside of New York in years only fueled the intrigue. The property is smack dab

Never break the contract: Lawsuit points to “No Stevie Nicks” clause

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 08:15 AM PST

Lawsuits, they will come and they will go. A wacky “no Stevie Nicks” clause figures in a suit by landlords claiming they never broke a contract (never broke a contract) with a proptech startup. The landlords allege that GateGuard, an automated doorman and intercom service, began replacing intercoms with its own systems at several of their multifamily buildings without permission. The landlords — entities associated with Kobi Zamir — assert that they never entered into

REBNY, Building Trades join forces on development, policy

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 07:30 AM PST

The Real Estate Board of New York and the Building and Construction Trades Council, two groups that have historically clashed on development policy, plan to team up. The groups announced on Thursday an agreement to form a “joint industry advancement committee” to promote the health of New York City’s economy and of the real estate industry. Details on the committee’s goals weren’t provided, but the announcement follows another agreement between the BCTC — an umbrella

Airbnb lost by a landslide in Jersey City. What went wrong?

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 06:45 AM PST

On Tuesday night, as polls neared closing in a referendum on short-term rentals in Jersey City, Airbnb fired off an email accusing Mayor Steve Fulop of “prohibited electioneering.” The attached video — a grainy, four-second exchange between Fulop and a voter — showed what Airbnb called a “shocking disregard for law.” It was the final act in a divisive and expensive battle over the company’s future in Jersey City, which along the way had triggered

Pol aims to cap commercial rents, Real estate pros cool on Trump

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 06:24 AM PST

Every weekday The Real Deal rounds up New York’s biggest real estate news. We update this page throughout the day, starting at 9 a.m. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com The City Council is mulling a cap on commercial rents to address vacant storefronts. A commercial rent control bill could be introduced by Brooklyn member Stephen Levin as soon as next week. The idea has bounced around the council for decades but has never

To pay off debt, Realogy to sell relocation biz for $400M

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 06:11 AM PST

As it looks to pay down debt, Realogy — the country’s largest brokerage conglomerate — is selling its relocation business in a deal valued at $400 million. Saddled with $3.5 billion in total debt, Realogy said Thursday that it will sell Cartus’ relocation business to SIRVA, a relocation company that owns Allied Van Lines. The deal does not include recent affiliations meant to drive business, such as partnerships with Amazon and AARP. “This transaction is

Multifamily heavyweights pitched rent plan before Albany hammered landlords

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 05:15 AM PST

As lawmakers considered changes to the rent laws earlier this year, two of the city’s largest landlords floated an alternative. The proposal, which was never made public, could be a starting point for future negotiations. Taconic Investment Partners’ Charles Bendit and A&E Real Estate Holding’s Douglas Eisenberg together drafted a proposal that included an annual cap on rent increases and a penalty for landlords with violations in their portfolios in order to fund enforcement measures,

‘Thank God’ for techies: Silicon Valley execs ramp up NYC resi purchases

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 04:30 AM PST

The news about New York’s luxury residential market has been grim lately — at least for developers and brokers. Sales volume is down. Inventory is piling up. And discounts are the norm. But brokers say there’s one group of buyers who have been eager to pull the trigger on deals: wealthy tech executives. And those buyers have, in some cases, been emboldened after their startups have been bought — and in the wake of a

“Officially out of money”: Upper East Side condo in disarray

Posted: 07 Nov 2019 04:00 AM PST

It’s a New York condo buyer’s worst nightmare. Three of them put down $11 million apiece for an “exclusive residence” in an elegant pre-war building with a landmarked facade in one of “the world’s finest neighborhoods,” only to see the condominium become nearly insolvent because of the developers’ bizarre family feud. Building staff — at least the ones who haven’t already walked off — have been forced to take their meals on a chair in