The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

St. Francis College takes 250K sf at new DoBro building

Posted: 21 May 2021 04:47 PM PDT

St. Francis College has inked a lease with Tishman Speyer for 255,000 square feet at the Wheeler, the 10-story glass addition above the landmarked Macy’s building in Downtown Brooklyn. The 30-year deal partially replaces the long-term lease that the private Whittle School and Studios signed in early 2020, to occupy all 622,000 square feet at the Wheeler, according to Commercial Observer. That 20-year agreement has since fallen through; the college’s lease was with Tishman directly.

Existing home sales decline another 2.7 percent in April

Posted: 21 May 2021 03:52 PM PDT

Nationwide home sales slowed again in April as prices continued climbing amid scarce inventory. Existing home sales dropped 2.7 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.85 million, down from 6.01 million in March, according to a monthly report released by the National Association of Realtors’ Friday. April marks the third consecutive month-over-month decline in the pace of sales, though the pace was still up nearly 34 percent over April 2020, when the

Miami real estate agent arrested on charges he ran brothels, laundered funds

Posted: 21 May 2021 02:45 PM PDT

A Miami-Dade County real estate agent was arrested on charges tied to running two prostitution sites, including one with a spa business as a front next to a childcare center. Almicar Jose Leon, 42, faces dozens of felony charges for deriving financial support from prostititon and a felony charge of money laundering, the Miami Herald reported. Leon, who has an active real estate license in Florida, lists himself as a sales associate with Avanti Way

Landlord uses illegal lockout proceeding to oust unlawful tenant

Posted: 21 May 2021 02:05 PM PDT

New York’s housing law includes a safeguard against self-help evictions, or when a landlord swaps the locks or shuts off utilities to unlawfully evict a tenant. A renter can bring an illegal lockout proceeding against their landlord to expedite the case through housing court and get back into their apartment. But a Queens landlord recently used the law to flip the script. Michael Carr, an attorney at real estate firm Rosenberg & Estis, filed an

Newmark sues brokers who jumped to CBRE for violating non-compete

Posted: 21 May 2021 12:45 PM PDT

Newmark is suing three of its former brokers and their new employer, CBRE, alleging that the former violated non-compete agreements in their employment contracts, and the latter was responsible for that breach of contract. But the brokers named in the case — Terrance Hunt, Christopher Cowan and Shane Ozment — have countersued Newmark and its affiliated entities, arguing that their non-compete pact was unreasonable and voided by a subsequent 2018 agreement made with their employer.

Julianne Moore sells Montauk cottage six years after first listing it

Posted: 21 May 2021 11:30 AM PDT

Oscar-winning actor Julianne Moore sold her modestly sized Montauk cottage for $2.9 million after six years on the market, according to Variety. The deal closed in March. Moore reportedly listed the property in 2015 for $3.5 million after finding a drunk stranger asleep on her couch. She and her husband Bart Freundlich moved to a home in a more secluded part of Montauk shortly after the incident. The three-bedroom cottage was built in 1940 and

East End reels from influx of year-round visitors

Posted: 21 May 2021 10:45 AM PDT

In the Hamptons, summer vacationers and year-round residents endure something of a symbiotic relationship. The hedge funders, Hollywood types, old-money scions and rock stars who proliferate from Memorial Day to Labor Day need the fishers, farmers, plumbers and construction workers who populate Suffolk County year-round. And vice versa. The latter can’t pay their bills without the former, and the former need the latter to survive. An uneasy social contract keeps the peace between them for

Silverstein will pour $60M into US Bank Tower overhaul

Posted: 21 May 2021 10:00 AM PDT

Silverstein Properties’ planned $60 million overhaul of U.S. Bank Tower will look to add a creative office feel to the 31-year-old supertall. The firm aims to make the 1.4 million-square-foot Downtown building more appealing to companies that have traditionally eschewed vertical offices for campus-like settings, according to the Los Angeles Times. Silverstein said it would undertake a “comprehensive capital improvement plan” at the 73-story skyscraper when it closed its $430 million purchase of the property

Institutional buyers are flooding single-family market

Posted: 21 May 2021 09:15 AM PDT

Institutional buyers are in spending mode. Investors dropped a record $77 billion on homes in the past six months, according to Business Insider, citing a Redfin report. That compares to the $55 billion spent on homes in the second and third quarters of 2020, when buying dropped as Covid cases surged and cities imposed restrictions. Overall, the number of homes acquired by investors jumped 2.7% in the first quarter compared to the same period last

Is e-commerce king? Retailers reflect on pandemic changes during earnings calls

Posted: 21 May 2021 08:30 AM PDT

Amid rising vaccination numbers and lifting of Covid-related capacity restrictions nationwide, landlords are eager to see shoppers return to brick-and-mortar stores. But retailers may have different ideas. On their first-quarter earnings calls, executives of major retail brands said they’ve embraced the shift to e-commerce accelerated by the pandemic. Several big companies reported record-breaking sales, largely driven by the incorporation of curbside pick-up and delivery. “This is the power of ‘and,’” Target CEO Brian Cornell said

WeWork reports $2B in losses in Q1

Posted: 21 May 2021 08:00 AM PDT

WeWork’s financial troubles keep getting worse. The embattled co-working company reported $2.1 billion in losses in the first quarter, according to the Financial Times. WeWork also shed 200,000 members over the last year, about a quarter of its membership. Membership dipped to 490,000 in March, from 693,000 in March 2020. Adding to that, the firm has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to restructure its portfolio. About $500 million in losses for the quarter

Procore raises $635M in long-awaited IPO

Posted: 21 May 2021 07:15 AM PDT

Construction software company Procore raised $634.5 million in its long-awaited initial public offering, debuting on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. The company initially marketed stock between $60 to $65 a share, Bloomberg News reported. According to the publication, it sold nearly 9.5 million shares at $67 apiece. The proptech offers software that enables all parties on a construction project — contractors, owners and architects — to connect via the cloud. The company has

Punch time clock heir sells oceanfront Palm Beach estate for $95M

Posted: 21 May 2021 06:30 AM PDT

Edward G. Watkins sold his oceanfront Palm Beach estate for $95 million, marking the second most expensive sale this year in the ritzy town. Records show The Goodrich Florida Realty Trust II sold the mansion at 1341 South Ocean Boulevard to The 1341 South Ocean Boulevard Trust. The buying entity borrowed $60 million from Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Mortgage to finance the purchase. Watkins was the true owner, and had the mansion homesteaded, according to

WATCH: The Many Owners of the Empire State Building

Posted: 21 May 2021 05:45 AM PDT

The Empire State Building is the ultimate trophy property. Savvy real estate pros will know that today, it’s owned by Tony Malkin’s Empire State Realty Trust — but they might not know the winding path it took to become the crown jewel of the publicly traded REIT’s portfolio. From its opening day during the Great Depression to leasing troubles and a near takeover by former President Donald Trump, the skyscraper’s business history is just as

Lawmakers propose tweaks to rent relief program, foreclosure protections

Posted: 21 May 2021 05:00 AM PDT

Lawmakers are seeking to tweak New York’s rent relief program to comply with new federal guidelines, but some landlords feel the changes still leave the door open to future conflicts with tenants. Sen. Brian Kavanagh, who chairs the chamber’s Housing, Construction And Community Development Committee, introduced a bill this week that would revise the state program to match recent guidance from the Department of Treasury. The measure increases the number of months of rent arrears

The Closing: Scott Durkin

Posted: 21 May 2021 04:30 AM PDT

Scott Durkin doesn’t mind playing second (or third) fiddle. The president and COO of one of New York’s largest brokerages doesn’t bask in his title. Instead, he operates with a light touch, favoring delegation and deference. Durkin credits his outlook to his upbringing in rural upstate New York. “I always think, ‘Thank God I’m a country boy,’ because look at what we’re doing,” he said from the perch of a plush white sofa in a

A housing voter’s humble request: One good candidate

Posted: 21 May 2021 04:00 AM PDT

Elections should be easy for single-issue voters: Pick whoever’s best on your top concern and fill in the bubble. But if your issue is housing supply and you live in Brooklyn, fuggedaboutit. The leading candidates for Brooklyn borough president all seem hostile to the obvious fact that adding housing increases affordability. Or, worse, they understand supply and demand but are more interested in votes. A caveat: Favoring development and winning elections are not mutually exclusive.