The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Yes, these North Pole houses really are for sale

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 02:00 PM PST

At Christmastime, real estate brokers and investors alike turn their thoughts to the North Pole. Sure, it’s cold there, really cold and full of snow, but Amazon does deliver, we think. Santa, however, does not live in this North Pole. In fact, this North Pole is in Alaska, and is about 1,000 miles south of the actual North Pole, which is somewhere in the Arctic Ocean. But all the same, this North Pole, just outside

RE data startup CrediFi to shut down following failed sale

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 01:38 PM PST

CrediFi, a venture-backed startup that jostled for supremacy in the commercial real estate data and analytics space, is shutting down, The Real Deal has learned. Employees at the startup, which has raised $29 million to date, were informed of the company’s decision to close on Tuesday, according to sources. A meeting was held at the company’s Tel Aviv headquarters, and employees in the New York office were informed via a virtual meeting. The company, led

Manhattan’s biggest hotel project this year? It’s a tie

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 01:00 PM PST

The biggest Manhattan hotel developments under construction this year will add about 4,400 rooms. Most of those projects, perhaps unsurprisingly, are smack in the middle of the island. Standouts on the list — which ranks projects based on number of rooms — are Sam Chang’s McSam Hotel Group and Marx Development Group, with two apiece. And the Big Apple is poised to get its first Virgin- and Hard Rock–branded hotels, developments that will add nearly

L+M transfers piece of big Brooklyn residential project to Dunn

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 12:24 PM PST

A piece of L+M Development Partners’ sprawling affordable housing project in Brownsville is getting a new developer. Plans filed Friday with the Department of Buildings call for an eight-story, 157-unit mixed-use building with 5,400 square feet of community facility space at 401 Chester Street. A spokesperson for site owner L+M said it plans to transfer the property to fellow affordable housing developer Dunn Development Corp. The building’s residential units will consist entirely of affordable senior

Elliman lambasts StreetEasy’s move to manual entry

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 10:27 AM PST

With less than two weeks left until StreetEasy pulls the plug on automatic listing feeds, the city’s largest brokerage has lambasted the move and said it will consider “alternative marketing options.” In a Dec. 20 email to agents, Douglas Elliman said it was “assessing the return on its StreetEasy investment as it works to explore alternative marketing options.” “We will not go backwards in our ability to quickly and accurately utilize technology to market and

Qatar-backed hotel firm buys Montage Beverly Hills in record deal

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 09:30 AM PST

Qatar-backed hotel firm Maybourne Hotel Group has added the exclusive Montage Beverly Hills hotel to its portfolio, in a deal that values the 201-key property at over $400 million. Alan Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group, told The Real Deal that the deal is a record breaker in California, with rooms at the luxury resort now valued at $2 million. The Montage sale beat out the previous record of $1.7 million per room back in

Top-tier malls feeling pain of changing consumer behavior

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 08:50 AM PST

Top-tier malls are no longer immune from the perils facing the broader retail sector. Landlords behind some malls in prime locations across America are now signaling slower income growth as they grapple with a shifting consumer landscape and internet competition, the Wall Street Journal reports. Several malls have lowered their 2019 guidance on net income, for example. Some blamed a series of high-profile retail bankruptcies this year. Taubman Centers, the owner of The Mall at

Pacific Park tower moves to construction after $460M loan

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 07:00 AM PST

Construction is kicking off at the Brodsky Organization’s Pacific Park rental building thanks to a big construction loan. Brodsky and Greenland Forest City Partners landed a $460 million loan from a consortium, with M&T Bank and Bank of New York at the helm, according to the New York Post. Greenland’s Scott Solish said the closing was a “major milestone in developing Pacific Park’s most ambitious building to date.” The tower, at 18 Sixth Avenue, will

Pol calls foul on workaround to $20 rental application fee cap

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 06:30 AM PST

When state lawmakers reconvene next month, they will take a hard look at a loophole some brokers are using to avoid New York’s new $20 rental application fee cap. Earlier this month, attorney Lisa Faham-Selzer and one of clients, Moses Stark, revealed how dual agency agreements could allow agents and brokerage firms to continue collecting application fees above $20, as they did before Albany’s legislation took effect over the summer. They said the agreement allows

Adam Neumann could reap $2B from WeWork golden parachute

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 05:48 AM PST

Adam Neumann’s golden parachute could be the gift that keeps on giving. According to the Financial Times, the WeWork co-founder owns millions of “profit interests” in the co-working firm, which means that if WeWork goes public, Neumann’s $1.7 billion package could grow in value to more than $2 billion. In the event of an IPO, Neumann’s interests would would convert into stock with a value equivalent to the current share price, less a fixed “catch-up

Tales of turmoil as REBNY picks Perchwell for RLS

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 05:00 AM PST

The Real Estate Board of New York’s RLS Board has reached an agreement with venture-backed startup Perchwell to operate its back-end system, The Real Deal has learned. The 10-member board reached the decision to replace national MLS provider Stratus Data Systems after sending out requests for information to a small group of firms including RealPlus, Perchwell and Marketproof. A third party was hired to oversee the process and make a recommendation. Brendan Fairbanks, Perchwell’s founder

Is real estate’s Bitcoin buzz just getting started?

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 04:30 AM PST

The real estate industry — much like the rest of the world — is still trying to figure out exactly how its connection to cryptocurrency should work. Since virtual money first broke through a decade ago, with the launch of Bitcoin, buyers and sellers of property are increasingly using crypto as a form of payment. And the range of digital coins has exploded in recent years, with about 3,000 different types being traded as of

Records, records and more records: Resi deals set higher bar in 2019

Posted: 24 Dec 2019 04:00 AM PST

Ken Griffin. Jeff Bezos. Sting. These were just three of the A-listers that closed on pricey Manhattan real estate in 2019. With closings well underway at 220 Central Park South, seven of the year’s top 10 sales were at Vornado Realty Trust’s limestone tower. As of Dec. 20, Vornado closed 60 units valued at $1.7 billion. Overall, 2019’s top 10 sales totaled $859.6 million, up 51.8 percent from $566.19 million in 2018. But Griffin’s record-shattering