The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Global investment firms with real estate holdings took a beating in markets on Monday as China Evergrande inched closer to missing interest payments on its debt. While global markets slumped, U.S. real estate stocks held their ground. Blackstone Group, the world’s largest landlord, dropped about 7 percent, as did Apollo Global Management and eXp World Holdings. KKR fell 6 percent while the Carlyle Group slid almost 8 percent. The Real Estate Select Sector Index, which

Google the phrase “WeWork going public” and among the questions that pop up are: “When did WeWork go public?” The answer is, it never really did. But late next month, retail investors will finally have the chance to own a piece of the coworking giant. WeWork announced Monday that its merger with a special purpose acquisition company, floated in January and announced in March, will be completed a month from now. The news, like the

Sharif El-Gamal’s Soho Properties has closed on a $317 million refinancing of its recently completed Margaritaville Resort Times Square. Leading the financing was senior lender Bedrock Capital Associates LLC, the real estate finance affiliate of One William Street Capital Management, while mezzanine funding came from South Korea’s Hana Financial Investment, Soho Properties said in a joint statement Monday with co-developers Chip and Andrew Weiss. The refinancing was the largest for a New York City hotel

Former baseball slugger Alex Rodriguez hit a home run on 13 lawsuits filed by his former brother-in-law, Constantine Scurtis, over their unraveled real estate venture. A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge’s ruling to dismiss the suits means A-Rod is cleared of tens of millions of dollars in potential damages. Yet other litigation is still headed to court that could put Rodriguez on the hook for as much as $50 million. Rodriguez and Scurtis’ former real estate

The most expensive contract signed in Brooklyn last week was also the priciest in Brooklyn Heights this year as measured by price per square foot. A 2,904-square-foot penthouse at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Quay Tower, went into contract the week of Sept. 13-19 asking $7.5 million, according to a weekly report from Compass. At $2,583-per-square foot, that’s the highest square-foot price that’s gone under contract in the neighborhood so far this year, according to Garrett Derderian,

Less than a month after the release of his long-awaited album, “Donda,” Kanye West paid $57 million for a Tadao Ando-designed Malibu beach house, which first listed in May 2020. The rapper, entrepreneur and aspiring architect and developer bought the 4,000-square-foot concrete home at 24844 Malibu Road in an off-market deal with owner Richard Sachs, according to Dirt. Ando is reportedly among West’s favorite architects. Sachs listed the property last May, the same week that

First-time homebuyers in New York City have a spread of accessible options in four of the city’s five boroughs, according to a new report from StreetEasy. The company analyzed housing data to determine the most accessible neighborhoods for first-time buyers, typically aged 25 to 44, earning the city’s median annual income at $70,406. Sheepshead Bay topped the list, sporting 330 apartments on the market from June to August within an affordable monthly spending range. Sheepshead

Marcus & Millichap, the commercial real estate brokerage, said it was the target of a cyber attack. So far, there’s no evidence of a data breach. The attackers targeted information technology systems, the Calabasas, California-based firm said in a Sept. 20 filing. Cybersecurity experts restored and secured essential systems “with no material disruption to the business,” according to the filing. “There is no evidence of any material risk or misuse relating to personal information,” the

As the mess over China Evergrande Group — now the world’s most indebted developer — threatens to blow up that country’s real estate market, some of the most active Chinese developers in the U.S. have been flagged as risks. Oceanwide Holdings, China Vanke and Greenland have each crossed at least one of the “three red lines” set by Chinese regulators. Failure to comply with the limits places restrictions on new borrowing. Oceanwide, which has troubled

Optimism among builders that new single-family homes will sell rose in September after declining for three months as lumber prices fell and buyers clamored for places to live.  The Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo inched up one point to a seasonally adjusted 76. A reading above 50 for the index, which gauges builder perceptions of current and future single-family home sales, is generally positive, indicating that more

Manhattan’s luxury market appears to be back from its late-summer vacation. Thirty-eight homes asking $4 million or more went into contract in the borough last week, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report, the most in one week since July and the first time in five weeks that 30 or more such contracts were signed. Of those deals, 31 were for condos. Nineteen were sold by developers. “It was a big developer week,” said Donna Olshan,

Continuum’s towers might never go up, but they’re not going down without a fight. Last week, the Continuum Company filed a lawsuit in state court to save a tower project it aims to build near the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The developer, led by Ian Bruce Eichner, alleges the City Planning Commission has refused to consider a “reasonable alternative” to the proposed development on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, according to Curbed. The commission, taking its

Avison Young has acquired the Singer & Bassuk Organization to expand its debt and equity finance services platform. CEO and chairman Andrew Singer and his son Scott, who serves as president of the boutique debt brokerage firm, will join Avison Young as principals in New York and co-lead its tri-state debt and equity finance group, according to Avison Young. Three other members of the Singer & Bassuk team — Kathleen McSharry, Jeffrey Moroch and Alan

Seizing on a hot U.S. rental market, a venture led by Long Island-based Kalikow Group sold a luxury apartment complex in Charleston, South Carolina, that it developed for $53.6 million. The firm built the 220-unit property two years ago with Breakers Capital Partners and EYC Companies. Called 17 South, the complex is in the city’s West Ashley district. The buyer was West Shore, a Boston-based multifamily real estate investment firm, according to Kalikow. It marked

Sears is set to close its final New York City location after 89 years on November 24, according to The City. The iconic Flatbush, Brooklyn outpost is sporting several signs for closing sales, signaling an end of an era for the department store that’s been in business on the same corner since 1932, when future first lady Eleanor Roosevelt addressed the crowd at its grand opening. The store at the corner of Beverley Road and

Housing on Shelter Island is becoming increasingly unaffordable, leaving the middle class without options and putting the community’s future at stake. Shelter Island is the only town on the East End without a high-density affordable housing development. Two projects are being developed with either affordable rental options or homeownership opportunities, but most details are under wraps, Town Supervisor Gerry Siller told Newsday. The island has a full-time population of only 3,253, which triples during the

How many self-storage units could $1 billion buy? The operators of All Storage appear poised to find out. The self-storage company runs 50 facilities in Texas and three in Oklahoma, but the operator appears ready to box up ownership. The company is exploring a sale that could net more than $1 billion, according to Bloomberg. The company has started to solicit interest from potential buyers with assistance from CBRE in the sale exploration, Bloomberg reported,

An ongoing legal fight between a citizens group in Rockland County and the town of Ramapo has been given life after a judge refused to dismiss a legal action from the Citizens United to Protect Our Neighborhood of Hillcrest. Supreme Court Judge Paul Marx ruled on Wednesday the legal challenge levied against the Ramapo Town Board can continue. Both sides of the protracted legal fight have until October 27 to respond to the decision, according

Add another item to the list of things landlords are worried about. Property owners are calling on the City Council to renew a tax break that expired more than a year ago. Time is of the essence: In June, the state legislature granted the city the authority to renew J-51, a tax abatement and exemption program for residential renovations or conversion work, until January 2022. The renewal would cover work completed before June 30, 2022.

After years of drowning in unsold inventory, New York City’s condo developers reached perhaps their most desperate hour this spring, a year into a pandemic that had their prime buyers fleeing the city. Discounts abounded as builders rushed to fill units, repay lenders and avoid foreclosure. Buyers pounced on the concessions. When the dust settled, the second quarter had seen more Manhattan condo sales close than any quarter since 2015, reducing overall inventory, according to

Not long ago, two-day delivery was revolutionary for internet retailers. Then two hours became the gold standard. Now there are startups like Jokr, which aims to get consumers everything from a single ingredient to a full grocery haul within 15 minutes. To meet this logistical challenge, these companies need a lot of real estate close to customers in the markets they target. That is providing a welcome boost to the industry after the pandemic decimated