The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

City stops some projects after audit finds cheating

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 04:48 PM PDT

After greenlighting thousands of construction projects as essential, the city’s Department of Buildings has revoked approvals for some. In an email to owners viewed by The Real Deal, the agency indicated that it audited work that purportedly supported essential businesses or involved a single person. At some sites auditors found more than what was permitted by state rules enacted to curb coronavirus cases. “A number exceeded what was allowed for in the guidance,” the agency

A game-changer for restaurants and retailers? Maybe, if it’s legal

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 03:15 PM PDT

A City Council bill could shield restaurants, retailers and other business owners from certain legal action if they violate their leases — but it might not be constitutional. The measure, introduced by Manhattan Democrat Carlina Rivera, seeks to bar enforcement of personal liability provisions in commercial leases or rental agreements through at least September 2020 in cases where a tenant affected by Covid-19 defaults. Under the bill, attempting to enforce such provisions would be considered

Introducing TRD Connect: The new normal for networking

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 02:15 PM PDT

Power lunches at Cipriani may now be a distant memory, but social distancing won’t kill networking. It’s just a new beginning. That’s why we’re introducing TRD Connect, The Real Deal’s series of virtual networking events. Soon, real estate professionals will be able to make connections in small groups and one-on-ones through TRD Connect. The industry’s top brass will be joining these virtual networking sessions, and participants will be able to indicate in advance who they’d like

Past the pandemic: Rockefeller family pitches global luxury development projects

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 02:00 PM PDT

It may seem like a bad time to pitch a series of luxury lifestyle development projects around the world. But SixRock Group — a Rockefeller family-led real estate services firm — believes the global coronavirus crisis has created opportunity for low-cost land and construction deals. It has partnered with Miami-based Brands Lab International to make a push into high-end, branded real estate, The Real Deal has learned. SixRock Group, whose principals include Steven Rockefeller Jr.

Fed “not in any hurry” to raise interest rates: Powell

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 01:45 PM PDT

The Federal Reserve won’t push up interest rates any time soon, the central bank’s chairman said Wednesday as the U.S. economy shrank the most in over a decade. The Fed’s Federal Open Markets Committee said it was keeping the range of its benchmark interest rate between 0 percent and 0.25 percent after slashing rates twice in recent weeks as part of sweeping measures to contain the economic fallout of Covid-19. “The committee expects to maintain

One of NYC’s top multifamily lenders says 25% of portfolio is in deferral

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 12:10 PM PDT

New York Community Bank announced that a quarter of its $31.3 billion multifamily loan portfolio is currently in deferral, but rent collections were better than expected. The bank reported net income of $92.1 million for common shareholders in the first quarter, up 3 percent year over year and down 1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2019. Its president, Joseph Ficalora, assured its investors on a Wednesday earnings call that its multifamily borrowers have not

TRD Insights: Mortgage forbearances keep climbing

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 11:41 AM PDT

The number of mortgages in forbearance continues to rise, jumping more than 1 percentage point last week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. And that figure is likely to keep rising, according to MBA, which represents the real estate finance industry. MBA’s data represents 77 percent of the first-mortgage servicing market, or 38.3 million loans. As of April 19, 6.99 percent of mortgage servicers’ loans were in forbearance, an agreement made between lenders

NAR predicts home sales to drop 10% in 2020

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 10:45 AM PDT

With the housing market hobbled by Covid-19, pending home sales dropped nearly 21 percent in March, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors. Overall, NAR is forecasting a 39.5 percent drop in home sales during the second quarter, an “off-the-chart negative” decline, chief economist Lawrence Yun said. But the pain could be temporary, with the market returning to a new normal during the second half of 2020, Yun said. For the full

Curbed folded into New York Magazine

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 09:50 AM PDT

Curbed, a 14-year-old but recently hobbled digital publication focused on real estate and urban development, will be folded into New York Magazine on May 1. A spokesperson for Vox Media, the parent company of both publications, confirmed the news, first reported by The Daily Beast’s Max Tani. The spokesperson said the company expects to “relaunch Curbed as part of New York [Magazine] later this year.” A source familiar with the matter said Curbed will continue

HFZ’s the XI has considered wholesale deals

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 09:05 AM PDT

HFZ Capital Group’s sales team has discussed selling a chunk of discounted units at the XI, the Far West Side luxury condominium project designed by Bjarke Ingels. A document prepared by Douglas Elliman, which is handling sales at the 236-unit project, lists a package of 10 condos with their current asking prices, as well as “bulk offering” prices for comparison. The document was obtained by The Real Deal, and sources familiar with the matter said

“I won’t talk about unemployment benefits:” California agents choose between ego, handouts

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 08:00 AM PDT

Alicia Dry Cohen made a calculated bet three years ago, leaping from digital advertising to selling homes. “It is a great career if you want to have flexibility, plus L.A. real estate is a lot sexier than digital advertising,” said Cohen, a real estate agent at Nourmand & Associates. Cohen started the year strong, netting sales in Brentwood and Pacific Palisades. But when Covid-19 and ensuing shutdown orders hit California, the deals dried up. On

TRD Insights: These markets are most exposed to coronavirus

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:30 AM PDT

The coronavirus crisis has pushed unemployment in the United States above 20 percent, with travel, hospitality and oil and gas among the hardest-hit industries. Metropolitan areas with higher concentrations of such jobs, largely located in the Sun Belt, appear more vulnerable to a long-term downturn. A study from the Brookings Institute in March indicated that Las Vegas and Orlando would be the two metro-area job markets most vulnerable to the coronavirus, with nearly one in

Simon will use tech to track occupancy for mall-reopening strategy

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:50 AM PDT

Simon Property Group intends to reopen 49 malls in 10 states across the country, and has a detailed plan that includes deploying tracking technology to welcome shoppers while adhering to prescribed safety measures. The giant mall REIT will start opening its shuttered shopping centers on Friday, according to the New York Times, which obtained internal documents that outlined plans. The documents included how the company would make sure employees and shoppers were maintaining safe distances

Reuben brothers pick up Fifth Avenue retail condo for $170M

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 05:50 AM PDT

David and Simon Reuben aren’t balking at the headlines. Though retailers have been hit hard by the stay-at-home measures in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the London-based billionaires brothers and property investors just picked up a retail condo on Fifth Avenue for $170 million, Bloomberg reported. SL Green Realty sold the retail condo at 609 Fifth Avenue, which is leased to Puma. The real estate investment trust — which was reportedly looking to sell the

TRD Insights: These cities have the most cramped and spacious apartments

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 05:00 AM PDT

Queens, New York, is home to some of the smallest and most crowded apartments in the country, according to a report from online apartment search company RentCafe. The report, which combined Yardi Matrix apartment data and census population figures, found that the most crowded apartments are in the most crowded cities. This is generally attributable to some combination of smaller apartments and larger households. Interestingly, apartment space per person also covaries with median gross rent

Why real estate is still tangled up with the mob

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 04:30 AM PDT

During a court hearing this winter, alleged loan shark Mark “Chippy” Kocaj urged a federal judge to allow him to work for a Bronx-based construction company. Kocaj was out on bail, awaiting trial for his alleged role in a mafia-connected construction bribery scheme. In the meantime, he wanted to return to the industry where he’d spent most of his career — but prosecutors weren’t keen on the idea. “We do have concerns about that company

Loan applications for home purchases jump 12%

Posted: 29 Apr 2020 04:00 AM PDT

Home loan applications dropped last week as refinancing requests waned but requests for purchases showed a healthy gain. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index measuring home loan application volume slid 3.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the period ending April 24 from the week before. But one element of that index — a metric tracking mortgage applications to buy single-family homes — jumped by 12 percent, nearly four times the previous week’s rise. Joel Kan, MBA’s associate