The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

5 Manhattan homes that can host a holiday party for the ages

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 03:23 PM PDT

Halloween is over and the holiday season can begin in earnest. If the stress of coming up with gift ideas for clients, coworkers, friends and family isn’t enough to cause palpitations, the added pressure of hosting a holiday get-together is sure to do the trick. The closer it gets to Thanksgiving, the more obvious it is likely to become that one’s kitchen does not have an oven large enough to accommodate a full-size turkey, refrigerator

Longtime owner of 740 West End Ave aims to cash in on multifamily rebound

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 02:43 PM PDT

Another New York City landlord is looking to cash in on rising demand for multifamily assets. The 14-story, apartment building at 740 West End Avenue on the Upper West Side has hit, according to JLL, which is handling the sale. Records indicate the 135,000-square-foot, pre-war building is owned by Wolk Properties, a family business that has owned the building “for multiple generations,” according to JLL. The property boasts 225 feet of wraparound corner frontage at

Humans vs machines: The fallout from Zillow’s iBuying fiasco

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 01:51 PM PDT

For all the talk about how Zillow’s iBuying fiasco was a triumph of humans over machines, it’s worth remembering one simple fact: Someone had to tell the bots which data to use. Agents and rival homebuyers are crowing about how Zillow’s apparent overreliance on a faulty algorithm led it to pay thousands over market prices. They say it shows the importance of on-the-ground expertise in a business that perhaps more than any other depends on

George Comfort & Sons signs Philip Morris as Stamford tenant

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 01:15 PM PDT

Philip Morris International is slated to say goodbye to the Big Apple next year, but will maintain its New York connection through its new landlord. The tobacco giant recently signed a 12-year lease for 71,500 square feet at 677 Washington Boulevard, a three-building office complex in downtown Stamford, Connecticut. The property has been managed by Manhattan-based George Comfort & Sons since 2018, when the firm joined California-based AVG Partners in the property’s ownership. In June,

Joe Farrell’s Hamptons Sandcastle finally sells for $31M

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 12:31 PM PDT

After three years and multiple price cuts, Joe Farrell’s Sandcastle in the Hamptons has dug up a buyer. The developer’s famed Bridgehampton estate sold for $31 million Tuesday, below its $35 million asking price. The buyer, represented by Douglas Elliman’s Tal Alexander and Sara Goldfarb, is a Florida billionaire, according to the New York Post. The 17,000 square foot residence at 612 Halsey Lane first hit the market in 2018 asking $50 million, then was

Strong housing demand a mirage, says analyst who called previous crash

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 12:10 PM PDT

Everyone seems to be betting the house on a new home these days. Multibillion-dollar private equity firms. Joe Schmo house-flippers. Even savvy tech firms. Everyone except Ivy Zelman, that is. The analyst who called the top of the housing market in 2005 is once again waving a red flag. It’s beyond contrarian: She’s pretty much in a category of one. “The perception that housing is drastically undersupplied and that a strong demographic picture lies ahead

Workers return to offices as jobs recovery accelerates

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 12:08 PM PDT

The stop-and-go jobs recovery was on the move again last month. The U.S. economy added 531,000 new jobs in October, dropping the unemployment rate to 4.6 percent, according to the Labor Department, which revised September’s tepid hiring from 194,000 to 312,000. “Job growth bounced back in October,” said Mike Fratantoni, chief economist of the Washington-D.C. based Mortgage Bankers Association. With average wage growth of 5 percent since last year, Fratantoni predicted that more people will

Mob hazard? Union officer retires after golf event with “barred” person

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 11:46 AM PDT

A September 2020 photo shows a carpenters’ union leader arm-in-arm with another former union member, clutching a golf trophy and grinning. The image appears innocuous enough, but it allegedly violated one of the union’s most important rules: Don’t hang out with suspected mob associates. Michael Rodin, a former regional manager for the New York City District Council of Carpenters and trustee for the union’s funds, retired at some point in the last two months. According

Marcus & Millichap reports second-straight record quarter

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 10:45 AM PDT

Marcus & Millichap reported back-to-back record quarters as part of its ongoing recovery. The California-based commercial brokerage firm — which specializes in investment sales, financing, research and advisory services — reported its highest-ever quarterly revenue and earnings in the second quarter. However, the company’s third quarter results surpassed the second quarter figures, achieving $332 million in revenue, up about 17 percent from the second quarter, president and CEO Hessam Nadji told analysts during a third-quarter

Big win: A-Rod prevails on civil RICO, theft claims tied to multifamily empire

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 10:42 AM PDT

Alexander Rodriguez is so far hitting it out of the ballpark in a suit filed by his ex-brother-in-law, Constantine Scurtis, over their unraveled real estate empire. A Miami judge on Wednesday struck Scurtis’ racketeering and theft counts, both civil claims, against A-Rod, saving the former baseball slugger from tens of millions of dollars in damages. The ruling came on the heels of the judge dismissing, in September, 13 lawsuits Scurtis filed against Rodriguez . (These

Student housing complex near Columbia University trades for $84M

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 10:30 AM PDT

With the return to campus helping to jumpstart the student housing market, developers of a newly completed building near Columbia University sold the property for $84 million. TriHill Management and Pebb Capital sold the 80-unit Monarch Heights building to a foreign high net worth individual, people familiar with the sale told The Real Deal. The developers completed the building at 415 West 120th Street last year, when the university’s campus was shut down due to

Maddd Equities, Joy Construction’s South Bronx housing dev scores $140M financing

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 09:45 AM PDT

Maddd Equities and Joy Construction’s massive affordable housing project in the South Bronx is closer to becoming a reality. The two developers scored $140 million in financing for the development, which is expected to span across 1164–1184 and 1159 River Avenue. Crain’s reports $92 million came from Wells Fargo, while the other $48 million came from the Housing Development Corporation and Department of Housing Preservation and Development. River Crest, as the project has been dubbed,

Wall Street goes long on Hollywood studios

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 09:17 AM PDT

Hudson Pacific Properties has a thing for the movies. Almost 15 years ago, the West Coast real estate firm made its very first purchase, paying $200 million for Hollywood’s Sunset Gower Studios, the former Columbia Pictures headquarters that had birthed everything from the Three Stooges to “Full House.” Shortly thereafter, in 2008, it bought the original Warner Bros. studio for $125 million, renaming it Sunset Bronson Studios. “There is a lot of capital going into

Cash balances for landlords rose in pandemic’s early days

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 08:00 AM PDT

Tenants and landlords alike faced unprecedented difficulties during the pandemic, but a new analysis suggests landlords were able to increase their cash balances early on. The analysis from JPMorgan Chase revealed landlords across the nation had higher cash balances in June 2020 than they did pre-pandemic, according to Vox. The revelation undercuts some of the claims made by landlords about the toll they suffered, particularly in the early months of the pandemic. According to the

MLB’s Mo “The Hit Dog” Vaughn scores Edgewater dev site for apartments

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 07:15 AM PDT

Former baseball first baseman Mo “The Hit Dog” Vaughn plans to build market-rate apartments in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood, marking a shift for his company that has so far focused on affordable housing. Vaughn’s Omni New York, through an affiliate, paid $7.2 million for the development site at 116 Northeast 24th Street, according to records. Seller Carrera Family Investments is led by Jose and Zaraida Carrera, state corporate records show. Jesse Spencer and Juan Sotolongo of

Airbnb’s revenue, profit soar as “work from anywhere” deepens

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 06:28 AM PDT

Airbnb’s revenue and profit soared to all-time highs in the third quarter as travelers capitalized on summer weather and flexible remote work policies. Net income increased 280 percent year over year to $834 million, which the company attributed to “significant” top-line recovery, “expense discipline” and seasonal trends. “Our results show that the growing strength of the travel rebound is here despite the continued pandemic,” co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said Thursday on an earnings call.

Italian restaurant, complete with 115-year-old castle, hits market

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 06:00 AM PDT

A restaurant, a castle, a pair of sculpted swordsmen — the Casa Basso property has it all. And for $6.5 million, the Westhampton establishment can be yours. The 91-year-old restaurant is being sold by owners Bejto and Zyli Bracovic, according to Behind the Hedges. The couple bought it in 1986 and are only the third owners since its establishment in 1930. Douglas Elliman’s Enzo Morabito has the listing. The restaurant may be known for its

Cushman explains its high hopes for WeWork partnership

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 05:54 AM PDT

Two years ago, the real estate industry wondered if WeWork would collapse under its own weight. Now, commercial brokerage giant Cushman & Wakefield is counting on the flex-office provider to help it attract and retain corporate service clients. Late last month, the company closed on a $150 million partnership deal with WeWork, which has stabilized since its chaotic 2019 and went public on Oct. 21 through a SPAC merger. With the investment, Cushman has acquired

No vacancy: New Jersey warehouse space effectively sold out

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 05:00 AM PDT

New Jersey’s warehouse market may as well put up a “No Vacancy” sign. Demand for prime warehouse space in the Garden State is so strong that the vacancy rate for Class A properties is down to 0.2 percent — essentially sold out — according to a report from JLL. Industrial developers in the Northeast can’t build quickly enough to meet surging demand from the rise in e-commerce and the ripple effects of the pandemic. Even

Rent control rocks Midwest landlords. Is New York state next?

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 04:00 AM PDT

The Twin Cities made history Tuesday as the first in the Midwest to enact rent control. In St. Paul, a new law will cap annual rent increases at 3 percent, applicable to all buildings. In Minneapolis, voters authorized their City Council to draft a rent control ordinance — details to come. The Minnesota measures are some of the boldest in the country, experts say, and follow a trail of tenant-friendly housing policies enacted in the