The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Last defendants in $1B real estate Ponzi scheme plead guilty

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 05:04 PM PDT

Over five years, beginning in 2012, Sherman Oaks-based luxury real estate developer Robert Shapiro orchestrated a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 7,000 property investors — many of them elderly — out of $1.3 billion. On Monday, the Department of Justice announced that the last two defendants related to the scheme’s subsequent criminal case, Ivan Acevedo and Dane Roseman, pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud conspiracy. Both men were based in Los Angeles and

Life sentences given for murder of real estate agent

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 01:25 PM PDT

Two men have been given life sentences for their roles in the murder of Minneapolis real estate agent Monique Baugh. Berry Alexander Davis, 42, and Cedric Lamont Berry, 42, were convicted last month of first-degree murder in the death of Baugh, 28. The agent was lured to a fake house showing in Maple Grove, Minnesota, on Dec. 31, 2019, and was abducted and shot, according to prosecutors. The two men were also convicted of second-degree

Pay check: How much can you earn in different real estate positions?

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 12:10 PM PDT

The following is a preview of one of the hundreds of data sets that will be available on TRD Pro, the one-stop real estate terminal that provides you with all the data and market information you need in one single location. Arriving spring/summer 2021. As the American economy recovers from the pandemic-driven recession, its workforce is undergoing a historic shakeup. Job losses and long-term remote employment have prompted an unprecedented number of workers to reevaluate

Starwood bailing on the mall business

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 11:07 AM PDT

Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group is moving away from its mall portfolio as values on the properties continue to plunge. The investment firm has been selling off shopping centers at a loss across the United States, Bloomberg News reported. While Starwood owned 30 malls before the pandemic, it is now down to eight — and those are being run by outside companies and may seek new owners. Starwood had been the fifth-largest mall landlord in

How a Singaporean REIT’s mighty US hotel investment sunk

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 10:15 AM PDT

A retired British ocean liner. A decommissioned Soviet submarine. And now, a bankrupt Singaporean real estate investment trust. All three defunct vehicles from around the world have one thing in common: They made their last stop at the Port of Long Beach. Over the past month, Singapore-listed Eagle Hospitality Trust — whose finances were clobbered by the pandemic less than a year after its initial public offering — has sold off most of its U.S.

Long Island office market on pace for dreadful year: report

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 09:35 AM PDT

At the onset of the pandemic, there was a theory: Suburban offices might fare better than their urban counterparts because businesses would lease satellite locations closer to where their employees live. It turned out that was not the case — at least on Long Island. A report by Avison Young found leasing activity there has paused since the pandemic, and at the current pace, this year’s leasing volume will fall 42 percent below the 20-year

Compass and Guaranteed Rate launch digital mortgage business

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 09:06 AM PDT

Compass is getting into the digital mortgage origination business. Three months after its initial public offering, the brokerage on Tuesday launched OriginPoint, a partnership with nonbank lending giant Guaranteed Rate. In a company-wide email following the announcement, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin said by expanding into the mortgage, title and escrow business, the firm is “nearly doubling our total addressable market.” Reffkin had hinted at the move in May during its first earnings call following the

PE firm Velocis snaps up a pair of Dallas-area industrial sites

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 08:41 AM PDT

Better late than never: as the industrial real estate sector continues to boom, Velocis is getting in on the action. The Dallas-based private equity firm, which specializes in real estate investments, has acquired two development sites in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to Commercial Property Executive. Velocis has teamed up with the U.S. subsidiary of Japanese mega-conglomerate Sumitomo Corp. to close on a pair of properties which will comprise 850,000 square feet of industrial space.

Ground control to Nolita: David Bowie’s apartment sells, asking $17M

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 07:45 AM PDT

The late rock star David Bowie’s apartment in Nolita sold, less than a month after hitting the market asking $16.8 million. Bowie, who died in 2016 at 69, purchased the downtown Manhattan apartment on Lafayette Street for $3.81 million in 1999, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited a StreetEasy listing. The apartment spans over 5,000 square feet with more-than 1,000 square feet of combined outdoor space on three terraces. The four-bedroom unit has

Single Amazon warehouse to file for IPO

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 07:15 AM PDT

Another Bay Area startup is planning to cash in by going public, but it’s not an e-commerce firm or a social network — it’s a warehouse an hour west of San Francisco. ROX Financial LP is looking to make an initial public offering for a 146,000-square foot warehouse in Oakley, California, currently being leased by Amazon, according to the Wall Street Journal. It is believed to be the first real estate firm to go public

Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood makes rival bid for Monmouth Real Estate

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 06:35 AM PDT

Two months after Monmouth Real Estate Investment reached a deal to be acquired by Sam Zell’s Equity Commonwealth, Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group is jumping into the ring with its own rival offer. Starwood provided an unsolicited bid to acquire Monmouth, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter. The real estate investment trust confirmed it received an all-cash takeover offer from a large “private investment firm” for $18.70 per share. It did

Jersey City mulls stricter building inspections after Surfside collapse

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 06:00 AM PDT

Jersey City officials are seeking to ramp up building safety enforcement in response to the fatal condo collapse in South Florida. Mayor Steven Fulop plans to introduce legislation Wednesday that would require periodic structural and facade inspections on certain buildings. Under the ordinance, building owners would need to pay a licensed architect or engineer to conduct a facade inspection every five years for properties six stories or taller, or at least four stories with a

Watch: How Andrew Farkas grew a billion-dollar business

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 05:30 AM PDT

Real estate is all about whom you know, from the biggest builders to the top brokers. TRD knows them all. And now we’re sitting down with the biggest names in the business to understand how they climbed the ladder — or made their own. No matter what niche of the industry you’re in, these Master Classes were made for you. Get started here. Andrew Farkas couldn’t tell you off the top of his head how

Bulk warehouse rent surges 13% in a year as industrial boom powers on

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 05:00 AM PDT

While commercial real estate vacancies persist, the warehouse boom is still going strong. A CBRE analysis found that from January through May, first-year base rents on leases of a year or more rose by 9.7 percent year-over-year, CNBC reported. Large warehouses have seen even sharper rent growth — 13.2 percent for leases of 500,000 square feet or more and 11.6 percent for those between 100,000 and 499,999. Nearly 100 million square feet of commercial space

A diamond is forever. Is the Diamond District?

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 04:30 AM PDT

Nothing turns a jewelry salesman on quite like the sight of naked fingers. To walk down Manhattan’s Diamond District is to be constantly flagged down by such salespeople. All it takes is one slip-up — lingering by a ring in a window, walking at an uncertain pace, glancing down at an unadorned digit — and a roving agent appears. Some work just for one store, while others are independent. These scouts can rifle through mental

Brooklyn luxury contracts decline for fifth straight week

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 04:00 AM PDT

Luxury sales continue to tumble in Brooklyn. Only 21 contracts for homes asking $2 million or more were signed in Brooklyn last week, down from 23 the week prior and continuing a week-to-week decline that has endured since the beginning of June, according to Compass’s weekly reports. Of the deals signed from July 6-11, 10 were for townhouses, eight were for condominiums and three were for co-ops. The asking prices of those contracts totaled $62