The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

In its first earnings as a public company, Opendoor reported a 45 percent drop in revenue attributed to its pause in home-buying in the early months of the pandemic. The iBuyer generated $2.6 billion in revenue last year, compared to $4.7 billion in 2019. The company reported a net loss of $286.8 million, down from $339.2 million a year earlier. Even as it sought to rebuild its inventory during the fourth quarter, it had few

CoStar’s fight for CoreLogic has ended in defeat. The bruised data giant, which spent the last few weeks trying to outbid Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners in a bid for CoreLogic, withdrew its $7.35 billion offer on Thursday and said it was terminating acquisition discussions. CoStar cited rising interest rates and a negative outlook for the mortgage refinancings, which caused valuations for residential proptech companies to drop in recent weeks. “With interest rates moving

A bankruptcy court has approved Ascena Retail Group’s Chapter 11 plans. Under the plans, Ascena — which owns Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, Loft and Lou & Grey — will be renamed Mahwah Bergen Retail Group. Ascena originally filed for bankruptcy last July. In December, private equity firm Sycamore Partners agreed to acquire the company — and bring it out of bankruptcy — for $540 million. The deal is valued at $1 billion overall. As of

Jimmy Fallon is saying goodbye to New York City — or at least, the eclectic New York City apartment he and his family have called home for more than a decade. The host of “The Tonight Show” and his wife, film producer Nancy Juvonen, are listing their penthouse at 34 Gramercy Park East for $15 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The six-bedroom, five-bathroom pad spans nearly 5,000 square feet and was assembled over the

Award ceremonies may look different this year, but for agents in the tristate area, there was much to celebrate. From the Hamptons to Westchester, homes were flying off the shelves in 2020. And although Douglas Elliman held its annual Ellie Awards without a gala — even a virtual one — it still celebrated agents’ accomplishments. Nationally, the brokerage closed $29.6 billion sales — over 46,303 sales and rental transactions — in 2020. In the Hamptons,

Former President Donald Trump is looking to sell a beachfront mansion across the street from his Mar-a-Lago resort for $49 million. The property previously belonged to his sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, a retired federal judge. She sold the eight-bedroom, 8,270-square-foot mansion at 1125 South Ocean Boulevard in 2018 to a company controlled by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump for $18.5 million. The former president later listed the property as an asset in financial disclosure

Even Mickey Mouse isn’t safe in the pandemic. Walt Disney Company plans to close 60 Disney Store locations across North America as part of its shift to e-commerce. With 300 stores worldwide, the closures reflect a 20 percent cut in the brick-and-mortar footprint, according to the Los Angeles Times. Disney Company already shuttered more than a dozen stores last year. Representatives did not say which stores would close or how many employees would be laid

Despite reopening and recovery efforts, some New York restaurants are barely hanging on. Restaurant sales are down 44 percent across the state year-over-year, and most restaurant operators do not expect business conditions to improve over the next several weeks, according to the latest survey by the New York State Restaurant Association. Furthermore, 27 percent of New York operators say they will “probably” or “definitely” close within three months if no additional aid is forthcoming from

An EB-5 investor is suing the developers of a long-delayed mixed-use project in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, claiming the massive complex may never win city approval and the site is now for sale. Jinyuan Li wants the $550,000 back that he invested in the planned construction of Eighth Avenue Center, touted as a 1.3 million-square-foot megadevelopment. Li, a Chinese citizen who lives there, was told he was among 70 EB-5 investors who contributed a total of

Appraisers are at the center of nearly every home sale, scrutinizing the size, condition and quality of the property. Now, the industry is taking a closer look at its role in determining home value, amid reports of racial discrimination by appraisers. Appraisal discrimination has led to news stories, like one in which the value of a Black couple’s home in San Francisco increased by $500,000 after they took down family photos. Now, under new leadership,

Awards season is here for residential brokerages, but like this year’s Golden Globes, it’s being celebrated in a much lower key. Douglas Elliman swapped its gala for an announcement, while Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group announced its awards virtually. Annual awards are a tradition for some firms, providing a platform for the head honchos to recognize agents who earned the most in gross commission income, or GCI, which is split between brokerage and agent. Typically, everyone

Retailer Michaels has something new on the craft table: a takeover deal from Apollo Global Management. Amid a DIY boom spurred by the pandemic, the private equity firm said it will take the retailer private in a deal that values Michaels at $3.3 billion, the New York Times reported. The transaction value is $5 billion, the companies said in a statement. Based in Texas, Michaels has 1,275 stores in North America. With more people doing

The Trump Organization is taking shoe designer Marc Fisher to court for allegedly skipping rent payments at Trump Tower. The former president’s company claims Marc Fisher owes $1.47 million under a 2015 lease at the building, where it had inked a deal to occupy the 21st floor and part of the 22nd floor. The Trump Organization claims Marc Fisher hasn’t paid its monthly rent of $144,936 since November, said the suit, first reported by Bloomberg

The tallest building in Queens, Skyline Tower, is on its way to potentially breaking a record. About 41 percent of the 801 units in the Long Island City condominium are in contract, according to Modern Spaces, which has been handling marketing and sales at the building since 2018. The first set of closings began last month. The 67-story tower is aiming for a sellout of $1.09 billion, according to filings with the Attorney General’s office.

After several strong weeks, Brooklyn’s luxury market dipped a bit in the final week of February. The category is defined as properties asking $2 million or higher. A Brooklyn Heights condo was the priciest unit of the week. Just 18 contracts were signed with a total sales volume of $46.2 million, according to Compass’ weekly luxury market report. The average asking price was $2.6 million. The total was a decrease from the previous three weeks,

Just south of Times Square, the 740,000-square-foot office building at 1440 Broadway was one of the last properties to be sold off as part of New York REIT’s liquidation. In 2017, the property was sold for $520 million to CIM Group, which manages the building, and Australian pension fund QSuper, which has a majority stake. The 25-story building’s occupancy was just 50 percent at the time of the sale, and has since risen to 93

For landlords across different commercial real estate sectors, Moody’s Analytics has some potentially distressing news: The worst may be yet to come. A new report by the economic research firm looks at the state of commercial real estate in the wake of the pandemic, and what to expect in 2021. The report looks at four CRE sectors — multifamily, office, retail and industrial — and while there are some reasons to be optimistic about the