The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Teresa Giudice of “Real Housewives” lists New Jersey home

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 03:55 PM PDT

A star of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” has listed a 10,000-square-foot mansion in Montville where she lived with her ex-husband, according to the New York Post. Teresa Giudice is asking $2.5 million for the property. The home is about a palatial as one could imagine given its owners’ reputation for extravagance. It has six bedrooms and sits on nearly four acres. Giudice and her former husband, Joe Giudice, raised their four children there until

Radco sells multifamily portfolio for $316M

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 03:00 PM PDT

Atlanta-based Radco Companies has been unloading its multifamily portfolio, piling up cash for what it hopes will be a discount shopping spree. This week alone the company sold six buildings in the Atlanta suburbs and one in Charlotte for a total of $315.6 million, CEO Norman Radrow told Bloomberg News. Radco has sold 28 of the 59 apartment properties it has purchased since 2011, and it’s not done. The firm is marketing 18 rental communities

Condo board can’t stop sale of 1MDB penthouse at $33M discount

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 02:36 PM PDT

The buyer of a scandal-tinged penthouse at the Walker Tower in Manhattan might not receive the sunniest of receptions on move-in day. The Chelsea building’s condo board tried to block the sale of the full-floor unit by exercising its right of first refusal. The board argued that the $18.25 million sale price brokered by the Department of Justice — which seized the unit as part of the 1MDB corruption probe — would devalue their homes.

Do you know your RE terms? Answer these 5 questions and find out

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 02:15 PM PDT

“Wolf of Wall Street” producer to forfeit $60M in 1MDB probe settlement

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 01:50 PM PDT

Another suspect in the 1MDB embezzlement scandal has agreed to give up assets allegedly linked to the scheme, which includes luxury properties in New York, Los Angeles and London. The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it had reached a settlement with Riza Aziz — stepson of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, and producer of “The Wolf of Wall Street” — to give up his claims on more than $60 million worth of assets

Hilton Times Square to close permanently

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 01:35 PM PDT

The Hilton hotel in Times Square is closing its doors permanently. The 478-room hotel at 234 West 42nd Street disclosed its plans to permanently shutter in a filing with the New York State Department of Labor Wednesday. The hotel’s 200 employees, some of whom had been furloughed since March, will be permanently laid off, according to the notice. The hotel’s owner, California-based hospitality REIT Sunstone Hotel Investors, did not immediately respond to a request for

Wildfire insurance crisis looms for California homeowners

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 11:15 AM PDT

Homeowners in fire-prone areas of California may soon find there’s no one to insure their properties. Last year, the state barred insurance companies from canceling policies on about 800,000 homes in or near areas with a high risk of wildfires. That ban is set to expire soon and there’s no way to renew it, according to the New York Times. Insurance companies, which have been financially battered by huge payouts in high-risk areas, are expected

Art Basel cancels Miami Beach fair in December

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 10:30 AM PDT

Art Basel Miami Beach is canceled this year, delivering an economic blow to South Florida hotels, restaurants, stores and other venues. The renowned art fair takes place each year in early December at the Miami Beach Convention Center, but will not be held this year due to the pandemic, Switzerland-based Art Basel announced on Wednesday. The annual fair draws well-heeled art lovers from around the world, and spins off other art shows, leading to a

Builders make hay as millennials hunt for homes

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:45 AM PDT

Millennials hunting for homes are driving prices up as builders scramble to meet demand. New single-family home sales rose 13.9 percent in July from the previous month, reaching the highest annualized rate recorded by the Commerce Department since 2006, the Wall Street Journal reported. Single-family home starts, which indicates U.S. homebuilding, rose 8.2 percent from June to July, reaching the highest level since February. Some of that was pent-up demand. But t hose who can

Tech startup inks $100M deal to help build 400 homes

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:00 AM PDT

With demand for new homes surging, a Phoenix startup is teaming up with a local builder to churn out 400 new homes using software that converts blueprints into Ikea-like assembly instructions. With a new, $100 million partnership, Mosaic Building and Mandalay Homes said they will build hundreds of single-family homes in northern Arizona over the next 24 months. In conjunction with the deal, Mosaic said it closed a $14.25 million Series A led by Andreessen

Macy’s to open smaller stores, bigger fulfillment centers

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 08:10 AM PDT

Who ever said bigger is better? Macy’s has unveiled a plan to open smaller, off-mall stores and fulfillment centers, while consolidating its current locations. “Everything on the digital agenda has been accelerated,” CEO Jeff Gennette said on the retailer’s second quarter earnings call Wednesday. The department store’s flagships have been hit hard by the pandemic as tourism diminished and employees in downtown areas shifted to working from home. However neighborhood locations saw some action from

Brookfield behind on D.C. area mall debt, does not expect default

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 07:35 AM PDT

Brookfield Property Partners will reportedly miss its deadline to pay off $282 million in outstanding debt on Virginia’s Tysons Galleria mall after the commercial mortgage-backed securities loan was sent to its special servicer. The loan on the high-end mall, set to mature on Sept. 1, was moved to special servicing for imminent default, according to the Washington Business Journal, which cited multiple ratings agencies. A Brookfield spokesperson told the news outlet that the company “does

Refinancings, mortgage rates down as agencies postpone new fee

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 06:45 AM PDT

Refinancing activity and mortgage rates were down last week, while new purchases held relatively steady — but still much higher than a year ago. The index tracking volume of mortgage applications to buy homes each week, known as the purchase index, decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent from the previous week. The metric, from the Mortgage Bankers Association, was 28 percent higher than it was the same time last year, marking the 15th straight week

John Gomes buys Miami Beach pied-à-terre on Ocean Drive

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 06:00 AM PDT

Luxury broker John Gomes is under contract to buy a million-dollar-plus home in Miami Beach. Gomes, of the Eklund-Gomes Team at Douglas Elliman, is buying a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit at Ocean Park, a planned boutique condo building in Miami Beach, Gomes told The Real Deal. The 1,160-square-foot pied-à-terre, at 312 Ocean Drive, will have an additional 600-square-foot terrace with a spa and summer kitchen. Gomes declined to provide a price, but the preconstruction unit was

Suburban housing market surged in August while Manhattan trailed

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 05:40 AM PDT

New York’s real estate market has become a tale of two fortunes. There is Brooklyn and the suburbs, where new contracts surged in August, according to the latest market report from Douglas Elliman. Then there is lonely old Manhattan, where real estate executives are leading the charge for companies to return to work; where the business community is taking every opportunity to tout the city’s unshakable foundation; and where home sales continue to tumble. Contracts

Airbnb’s IPO roadshow, now in the Zoom waiting room

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 04:30 AM PDT

Airbnb’s IPO roadshow is looking more and more like a staycation. After filing confidential plans to go public last month, the short-term rental company will be looking to drum up investor support virtually, joining several other high-profile startups that have embraced e-roadshows and remote IPOs during the pandemic. “No one is getting in a room together,” said Jocelyn Arel, a partner at the law firm Goodwin Procter, reflecting on the shift to virtual roadshows in

Got space? Manhattan office availability hits 7-year high

Posted: 02 Sep 2020 04:00 AM PDT

Manhattan’s office real estate market weakened in August as leasing volume was down 21 percent from a year ago while the availability rate hit a seven-year high, according to a monthly market report by Colliers International. Manhattan’s availability rate in August jumped by 0.8 percentage points from July to 11.8 percent, the highest since 2013. The rate is 2.1 percentage points higher than a year ago. The spike resulted partly from net sublet availability increasing