The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Detroit real estate executive killed in hit-and-run in Miami Beach

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 02:30 PM PDT

A real estate executive from the Detroit area was killed in Miami Beach over the weekend in a hit-and-run incident. Kevin Baker, 38, succumbed to injuries suffered in a suspected hit-and-run, according to a post on his Instagram account signed by his wife. He was a principal at the brokerage Landmark Commercial Real Estate Services LLC, according to Crain’s. A lieutenant from the Florida Highway Patrol said the incident happened around 2:45 a.m. on Saturday.

Palm Beach board rejects “alien” design of mansion for former Epstein property

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 02:00 PM PDT

Todd Michael Glaser and his team will have to go back to the drawing board after a Palm Beach board rejected plans for a mid-century modern spec mansion to be built on the former Jeffrey Epstein property. Glaser, who tore down the waterfront home that belonged to the late sex offender and disgraced financier, sought approval of a Kobi Karp-designed estate proposed for the property at 360 El Brillo Way. Karp represented the developer at

Zillow rides strong housing market to $9.6M profit in Q2

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 01:48 PM PDT

Zillow didn’t set any profit records in the second quarter, but it did deliver all-time-high revenues in results consistent with a strong housing market. The Seattle-based listing giant reported $9.6 million in net income for the quarter, down from $52 million in the first quarter, but far better than the $84 million net loss during the same period last year, when the pandemic brought the housing market to a near standstill. A year later, as home

New York City investment sales market roars back

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 01:30 PM PDT

New York City investment sales came to life in the second quarter, recovering from an unexpected setback in the first. Some 454 transactions were completed from April to June, adding up to $5.3 billion. The dollar volume nearly tripled the first-quarter total, according to Ariel Property Advisors’ quarterly investment sales report. It also doubled the dollar volume of a year ago, but was still far short of 2019’s second quarter when deals worth nearly $10

TRD’s South Florida Event Is Back

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 12:25 PM PDT

We’re back. The Real Deal’s South Florida Showcase + Forum is headed to Wynnwood, Miami on November 10th. Our showcase, which features more than 3,500 attendees, 100 sponsors and exhibitors, and dozens of industry-leading speakers, is the top event for South Florida real estate professionals. While other markets faltered in 2020, South Florida was a lightning rod for market activity. 2021 has only continued the trend as businesses flock to the region. TRD’s Showcase +

Housing boom rescues more than 1M underwater mortgages: report

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 11:21 AM PDT

A pandemic housing boom that’s driving up home prices across the country has reduced the number of “seriously underwater” mortgages in the U.S. by as much as 34 percent, a new report indicates. A home-equity report by data firm Attom shows the number of seriously underwater homes — defined as properties with secured loans that are at least 25 percent higher than the home’s market value — has dropped from 3.5 million at the end

Wells Fargo, BlackRock, Amazon join others in delaying office returns

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 10:33 AM PDT

UPDATED Aug. 5, 2021, 2:55 p.m.: The hits keep on coming for office landlords, with three more major companies pushing back a return to in-person working. Wells Fargo, BlackRock and Amazon are the latest to postpone in-person work, Bloomberg News reported. Wells Fargo was planning on bringing back its remote workforce beginning Sept. 7, but the surging Delta variant has now pushed that reopening date to Oct. 4, according to the publication. With almost 260,000

Washington is “putting kerosene on an open fire” with spending bills: Sternlicht

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 10:10 AM PDT

The rental and single-family home markets are the best they’ve been in years, and people are “seriously wealthy,” spending money on everything, says billionaire Barry Sternlicht. But federal spending bills are a cause for concern, Sternlicht, Starwood Property Trust’s chairman and CEO, said on the real estate investment trust’s second quarter earnings call Thursday. The government, he said, should find a way to get people back to work, “rather than paying them to sit on

Elliman’s record 195% revenue jump, $43M profit just the beginning: Lorber

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 09:08 AM PDT

Douglas Elliman reported record revenues and profits Thursday and executive chairman Howard Lorber forecast more to come. “I don’t necessarily feel that we’ve increased to the highest point,” he told analysts during the second-quarter earnings call for Elliman’s parent company, Vector Group. The brokerage notched $392 million in revenue for the quarter, nearly triple the $133 million from a year ago. Its net income was $43.2 million, up from a net loss of $5 million.

NJ’s new rent relief law also ends eviction ban earlier for some

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 08:52 AM PDT

New Jersey’s new rent relief law provides a lifeline for struggling tenants but also ends the eviction moratorium for some across the state. Gov. Phil Murphy signed the measure on Wednesday, providing $750 million in aid for tenants behind on their rent or utility bills, according to NJ.com. Renters who make less than 80 percent of their area’s median income will be protected from eviction for the rest of the year, according to the report.

American Dream mall drains reserves to make payment on $290M debt

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 08:21 AM PDT

The nightmare continues for the American Dream mall, forced to tap into a reserve fund to make its latest bond payment. The mall in New Jersey’s Meadowlands used $9.3 million from a reserve fund on August 2 to make payment on its nearly $290 million debt. The mall now has just $9.3 million left in the fund according to Bloomberg News, enough to make one more debt payment on February 1. The municipal bonds were

Biden’s new eviction moratorium immediately challenged in court

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 07:05 AM PDT

President Joe Biden’s new eviction moratorium was hit with a legal challenge just one day after he announced it. A group of property managers and real estate agents submitted an emergency motion in a federal court on Wednesday night, with the backing of the National Association of Realtors. The motion asks a judge to apply a ruling against the previous eviction ban to the newest moratorium, according to the Wall Street Journal. The new moratorium

July contract signings surge in city, sink in suburbs

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 05:00 AM PDT

Contract signings for home purchases in the city boomed last month but fell into a lull in surrounding suburbs. Manhattan and Brooklyn both saw more contracts signed than in the previous two Julys, according to a report by appraisal firm Miller Samuel for Douglas Elliman. In Manhattan, 1,222 contracts were signed, more than double last year’s count. Of those, 693 were for co-ops, 509 were for condos and 20 were for single-family and multifamily homes.

“Revenge buying” powers mall owner Macerich to crush estimates

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 04:30 AM PDT

Shopping centers, pummeled by the pandemic, are staging a comeback. That’s welcome news for one of the nation’s largest mall owners. The Macerich Company was upbeat during its quarterly earnings call Wednesday, describing what it sees as a shopping renaissance due to federal income checks and pent-up demand. “Brick and mortar retail is back with a vengeance,” said Tom O’Hern, CEO of the California-based REIT, “albeit powered with stimulus checks and revenge buying.” O’Hern’s comments

A big bet in uncertain times: Why Terminal Warehouse developers didn’t blink

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 04:00 AM PDT

It’s a dicey time to be in the midst of a billion-dollar office project. Developers of the Terminal Warehouse in West Chelsea find themselves in an unprecedented market, with the availability rate in Manhattan at a record high and rents at a four-year low. But L&L Holding Company and Columbia Property Trust are plowing ahead with the redevelopment, aiming to bring more than 1 million square feet of office space online in a few years.