The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

“Eco-yogi slumlords” surrender $2M house in settlement with city

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 02:39 PM PST

In retrospect, Loretta Gendville and Gennaro Brooks-Church would have been better off staying under the radar. Instead, the landlord couple drew attention to themselves by forcing out tenants from 1214 Dean Street during the pandemic and picking up the moniker “eco-yogi slumlords of Brooklyn.” The city sued in December 2020, accusing them of running an illegal short-term rental operation and, along with Attorney General Letitia James, announced a $2.25 million settlement Wednesday. The landlords surrendered

Inflation’s at a 40-year high. Commercial real estate didn’t get the memo.

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 01:00 PM PST

Flush with tourists, hotels in resort areas of South Florida are jacking up rates to above pre- pandemic levels. Business-dependent hotels in New York, meanwhile, are struggling to fill rooms. Hotels are supposed to be the ultimate real estate hedge against inflation, allowing owners to reset their rates every night. But as inflation surges at its fastest rate in nearly 40 years, hotels and other sectors of commercial real estate are seeing such outsized performance

Watch: Why Wall Street loves this controversial path to homeownership

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 12:30 PM PST

If you had to pick one phrase at the center of the American dream, it would be “homeownership.” The white picket fence symbolizes the ideal suburban life and evokes the image of having made it. The reality today, however, is that owning a home is out of reach for most Americans. Rising home prices and increasing affordability issues coupled with stagnant wages means that many would-be buyers are forced to remain in the rental market

Tenants ink leases for 320K at 320 Park

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 11:00 AM PST

Mutual of America Financial Group is making moves at its 320 Park Avenue, including becoming a rent-paying tenant at the office building. The firm signed an official lease for the 252,000 square feet it already occupied at the Midtown office building, the New York Post reported. Terms of the long-term lease were not reported, but asking rents in the building range from $95 to $150 per square foot. Signing an official lease at its own

CoStar shares tank on weak 2022 outlook, increased resi investment

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 10:15 AM PST

UPDATED Feb. 23, 2022, 5:37 p.m.: CoStar Group’s stock cratered in Wednesday trading after the real estate data giant offered a lackluster outlook for 2022 and outlined significant investments in residential products. Its share price fell 15 percent on the day. The company’s disappointing guidance overshadowed its strong fourth-quarter showing: 35 cents of adjusted earnings per share, which beat estimates by 6 cents, and revenue that climbed 14 percent year-over-year to $507 million, ahead of

Now streaming: TRD’s podcast, “Deconstruct,” looks at the prefab trend

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 09:30 AM PST

When one thinks of the homebuilding process, one usually doesn’t imagine it taking place inside a factory. But a confluence of market forces now has some firms challenging that notion, building walls, floors, roofs and even entire structures in offsite manufacturing facilities. On the latest episode of “Deconstruct,” The Real Deal talks to some of the firms building prefabricated and manufactured homes. Prefab, which refers to modular or panelized construction, mobile homes and kit homes,

Zeckendorfs buying foreclosed UES condo project for $250M

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 09:00 AM PST

The Zeckendorfs are back with another big development deal. Brothers William Lie and Arthur are buying Ceruzzi Development’s foreclosed condo project on the Upper East Side for around $250 million, The Real Deal has learned. Zeckendorf Development is buying the 61-unit Hayworth condo at 1289 Lexington Avenue from U.K.-based lender Children’s Investment Fund, which took control of the property through a foreclosure auction in January. It’s the second big acquisition in recent weeks for Zeckendorf

Mortgage applications at lowest level in more than 2 years

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 08:30 AM PST

Mortgage applications dropped last week as interest rates ticked higher, cooling activity among potential homebuyers. Applications for mortgages dropped to their lowest level since December 2019 in the week ending on Feb. 18, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Total mortgage applications dropped 13.1 percent from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Applications for refinancing also fell 16 percent from the previous week and a staggering 56 percent year-over-year. Rising mortgage rates are

Big Tech holds firm bet on the future of offices

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 07:30 AM PST

Amid an uncertain future for offices, one industry has ramped up its bets that joint working spaces are here to stay: Big Tech. Tech companies picked up a growing share of spaces across the country amid unclear return-to-office plans, the New York Times reported. CBRE data show tech companies leased 76 percent more space year-over-year in the last three quarters of 2021. Anne Helen Petersen, journalist and author of a book on remote working, told

A proptech VC bonanza: Camber Creek raises $325M for latest fund

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 06:45 AM PST

Camber Creek, among the bigger players in proptech-focused venture capital, has raised $325 million for its fourth and largest fund to date, The Real Deal has learned. The raise, which comes as investors show record interest in proptech startups, puts Camber Creek above $500 million in assets under management across its funds, according to managing partner Casey Berman. The firm, which has backed startups such as Latch, Notarize, VTS and Measurabl, isn’t planning on restricting

Chick-fil-A spreading its wings across Queens, Long Island

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 05:45 AM PST

More Chick-fil-A restaurants are coming to Long Island and Queens, continuing its proliferation across the area. Building plans filed with local towns reveal at least four Chick-fil-A locations slated for Long Island in the coming months, Newsday reported. The Atlanta-based chain is also expecting a location in Queens to open this year. The company debuted in New York City in 2015 with an eatery at West 37th Street and Sixth Avenue that generated lines around

Fortress takes aim at troubled student housing firm

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 05:00 AM PST

A student housing empire already struggling with foreclosures and lawsuits has made a multi-billion-dollar enemy: Fortress Investment Group. Nelson Partners Student Housing was the subject of a legal notice filed earlier this month by an affiliate of Fortress. The New York Times reported the company controlled by the investment giant is looking to foreclose on a $46 million loan owner Patrick Nelson took out in November 2019 to acquire the Auraria Student Lofts in Denver.