The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Real estate winners and losers: state budget edition

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 03:00 PM PDT

For once, landlords and tenants can commiserate together: They both lost big in the state budget. Various measures they supported were omitted from the state budget, meaning they would need to pass as standalone measures to become law this year. Politically, that’s a much heavier lift. Most significantly, a lucrative property tax break did not make it into the final budget despite support from Gov. Kathy Hochul, real estate groups and prominent unions. This sets

Hotel owners lose bid to defeat severance law

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 02:00 PM PDT

The forlorn hotel industry has suffered another blow as a judge upheld a city law requiring severance payments for laid-off workers. The Hotel Association of New York’s challenge to the hotel severance bill was struck down in federal court, Crain’s reported. The industry trade group doesn’t have any plans to appeal the decision. The owners group brought the case in October, arguing that the law illegally forced city hotels to create an employee benefit plan

Fashion designer sells $6M condo to mystery celeb

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 12:00 PM PDT

A star-studded Tribeca building may have gained yet another celebrity. Fashion mogul Kobi Halperin, who was among the first buyers at 443 Greenwich, sold unit 1A for $6.2 million, according to public records filed Wednesday. The former creative chief at Elie Tahari paid $6.1 million in 2016 for the 2,644-square-foot, four-bedroom pad on the first floor. The buyer is shielded by an LLC. The deed was signed for by Mark Landesman, a business manager, who

Convicted scammer Dina Wein Reis lists UWS mansion for $65M

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 10:45 AM PDT

Dina Wein Reis won’t be swindled out of her Upper West Side townhouse. Reis, an art dealer and socialite who pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge in 2011 after being accused of scamming Fortune 500 companies out of millions of dollars, listed her eight-bedroom mansion at 25 Riverside Drive for $65 million. Listing agent Elizabeth Sample with Sotheby’s International Realty directed questions to the brokerage’s public relations team, which did not immediately respond to

Office occupancy hits pandemic high

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 10:00 AM PDT

There have never been more office employees going into offices across the United States since the onset of the pandemic, but the in-office population is still less than half of pre-pandemic levels. A record number of employees were back at the office for the week of March 30, according to Kastle Systems’ “Back to Work Barometer” reported by Bisnow. While that’s positive news for the office market, the level marked only 42 percent of pre-pandemic

Silverstein refis 7 World Trade with $458M in green bonds

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 09:00 AM PDT

Silverstein Properties has closed on a $457.5 million refinancing at 7 World Trade Center, its LEED Gold office tower in Downtown Manhattan. The refi comes with serious tax advantages: Tax-exempt bonds make up $449 million of the loan — 98 percent of it. The 52-story building’s construction in the early 2000s was financed through federal, tax-free Liberty Bonds issued in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Goldman Sachs led the deal, which was executed in

Can single-family rentals become a commodity? This startup thinks so

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 08:15 AM PDT

Homes may no longer be for homeowners. One of the most consequential trends playing out in residential real estate is the evolution of the single-family home into a measurable, tradeable, increasingly liquid asset — something that is beginning to look, feel and act like a commodity. Should it continue down that route, the implications for the U.S. housing market — and for aspiring homeowners — are massive. The latest startup riding this wave is Roofstock,

Better.com floats voluntary resignations after mass layoffs

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 06:30 AM PDT

Better.com is trying to convince some of its employees that they may be better off elsewhere. The beleaguered online mortgage startup offered some corporate and product development and engineering employees voluntary separation plans, a person familiar told Bloomberg. Under the plan announced at a town hall meeting, employees could be entitled to as much as 60 days of severance and health insurance. The offers will only be on the table for a limited period of

Got milk? Former factory eyed for future hotel

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 06:15 AM PDT

An entrepreneur has designs on milking Hudson Valley’s post-pandemic tourism for all it’s worth. Michael Dorf, founder and CEO of wine maker and music venue City Winery, is looking to turn a former milk factory in Walden into a hotel, the Times Union reported. The site is at 2860 Route 208, which previously operated for the Borden Dairy Company. Dorf doesn’t want locals — himself included — to have a cow about the redevelopment, which

Compass settles discrimination suit, bumps Section 8 commissions

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 05:30 AM PDT

A year after watchdog group Housing Rights Initiative sued Compass for discriminating against tenants using housing vouchers, the brokerage agreed to put money toward righting that wrong, promising bigger commissions to agents for Section 8 leases. The incentive stems from a settlement the parties reached Wednesday. Compass also agreed to add training so brokers would understand voucher programs and how to file paperwork. Plus, the brokerage said it would educate first-time homebuyers who are becoming

Dermot pays $180M for apartment building… in Midwood

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 05:00 AM PDT

An investor looking to cash in on New York City’s hot rental market dropped $180 million on an apartment building last month — not in Hudson Yards or Sutton Place, but Midwood, Brooklyn. The Dermot Company nabbed a 302-unit apartment building at 1277 East 14th Street in the humble neighborhood for the whopping sum late last month, records show. The sale is the largest in Brooklyn this year and a testament to the feeling that

Ranking Manhattan’s top residential brokers of 2021

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 04:30 AM PDT

Turns out pent-up demand really was a thing. After a slow 2020, Manhattan’s residential market went into overdrive last year, pushing up home prices and wiping out inventory, particularly in the luxury segment. Despite scrambling to find listings for their eager clients, many agents enjoyed career-defining years. The Real Deal’s annual ranking of the city’s top brokers revealed that stalwarts posted record-breaking numbers, boosted by the return of elites from pandemic retreats, while in-house veterans

Renters of color saddled with more upfront costs

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 04:00 AM PDT

On the heels of a finding that rental applicants of color were more likely to be ignored than white ones, a Zillow analysis shows when they get the apartment, they typically must pay more upfront. The report found renters of color were obligated to pay security deposits more frequently than their white counterparts. Moreover, their deposits were $150 more than those paid by white renters. Additionally, Black and Latinx renters submit more applications than white

Watch: Eliot Spitzer’s advice for Kathy Hochul

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 03:30 PM PDT

Less than a year after ascending to New York’s highest office following the ouster of her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, Gov. Kathy Hochul is neck-deep in her first state budget negotiations — an annual slog through the political swamp of Albany in which much is at stake but little is revealed to the public until a final deal is reached. Numerous real estate issues remain unsettled as talks stretch far beyond the budget’s April 1 deadline,

Landowner leveled forest, despite conservation pact

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 03:21 PM PDT

A Hudson Valley landowner says she cut down a forest on her land because she wanted another one to grow in its place. That doesn’t make sense to a local conservation group, especially given that the owner, Anne Hohenstein, reaped $68,000 for the lumber, the Albany Times Union reported. Especially galling for the group, Scenic Hudson, is that it had paid Hohenstein and her family $258,850 more than a decade ago to preserve the land.

St. James residents fight 75-acre subdivision

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 12:01 PM PDT

Critics are coming out of the woodwork in the St. James hamlet of Smithtown after a planning board approved the subdivision of a 75-acre property. The Smithtown Planning Board voted unanimously for the preliminary subdivision of the property, Newsday reported. Gryodyne, a commercial property manager founded in 1946 as a helicopter manufacturer, wants to carve the property into eight lots, which could be used for hotels, medical offices and more. The subdivision approval could help

Court declines REBNY move to dismiss Compass antitrust lawsuit

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 11:15 AM PDT

UPDATED, April 7, 2022, 9:45 a.m.: A federal judge denied the Real Estate Board of New York’s request to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed by Compass. The ruling preserves Compass’ suit centered on agents carrying clients when they switch brokerages. The brokerage sued REBNY in March 2021, alleging the group conspired with Douglas Elliman and the Corcoran Group to collectively modify and enforce the trade group’s rules in a way that would “smother” Compass. Elliman

NYC new development sales stay hot, but prices show signs of stabilizing

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 10:30 AM PDT

Steroids, a rocket ship or a magic beanstalk — whichever metaphor you choose to describe New York’s hot new development market, it just keeps on climbing. Sales of new development condos in the city just posted their strongest first quarter — and third-most-active quarter overall — since at least 2015, according to a new report from Marketproof. Developers in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens reported 1,178 contracts signed for sponsor units in the year’s opening months,

Opendoor hits NY, NJ. Can the iBuyer price East Coast homes?

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 09:58 AM PDT

Opendoor is bringing its iBuying operation to Long Island, the lower Hudson Valley and New Jersey after expanding to the opposite coast earlier this year. San Francisco-based Opendoor, the dominant iBuyer among the three that remain after Zillow’s dramatic withdrawal last fall, will look to purchase single-family homes and condo units priced from $300,000 to $950,000 in nearly 500 zip codes across the two states, the company said Tuesday. “This was a natural progression for

UWS church throwing Hail Mary to save congregation

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 09:45 AM PDT

Landmark status is not enough to save the West-Park Presbyterian Church from selling its property to save its historic congregation. The church is appealing its landmark designation so it can sell the 140-year-old property to Alchemy Properties, the Commercial Observer reported. The developer plans to tear down the church at 165 West 86th Street to make way for an apartment building. Times are lean for the church, which counts only 12 members in its congregation

Attorney shortage prompts call to delay eviction cases

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 08:45 AM PDT

Five days into April, legal services providers say they have taken all the Queens eviction cases they can manage for the month, warning that some tenants may face housing court unrepresented. The Legal Aid Society, Legal Services NYC and New York Legal Assistance Group called on the courts to slow scheduling so low-income tenants could get representation under the city’s Right to Counsel program. But attorneys have sounded the alarm for weeks with little action

Startup that diagnoses home repairs says it can save institutional owners millions

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 08:00 AM PDT

A proptech firm that claims to have produced the first “check engine light” for the home launched its service with more than $12 million in seed funding. Maryland-based Dwellwell, founded in 2018, says its sensors can detect anomalies in a home’s air conditioning, electrical and plumbing systems, allowing owners to make repairs before they become costly disasters, founder and CEO Dan Simkins said. “Home maintenance today is entirely reactive — if something breaks, you fix

Landlords offer to re-open 20K warehoused apartments*

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 07:40 AM PDT

Landlords have a deal for Albany. They would fix up and return 20,000 rent-stabilized apartments to the market. In return, lawmakers would give them a way to pay for it — by allowing for a vacancy “reset” on rents. The Community Housing Improvement Program, which made the pitch Tuesday, says the 20,000 units sit vacant because the 2019 rent law severely limited the rent increases needed to fix them up. An exodus of renters during

Mets owner pursuing NYC pols for Citi Field casino

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 06:45 AM PDT

Disappointed New York Mets fans may soon be able to sulk in a new source of misery: a casino next to Citi Field. Team owner Steve Cohen has been pitching a casino next to the MLB ballpark, The City reported, going as far as to host Eric Adams and other City Hall officials in January. Cohen is eyeing use of the stadium’s parking lot for the casino. A spokesperson for Adams told the outlet the

Home-flip tax would punish the good guys

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 06:00 AM PDT

Just when you think politicians cannot get any more daft about housing, along comes Chris Ward. The California Assembly member wanted to give ordinary homebuyers a better shot at competing with home flippers, so he introduced a bill adding a 25 percent tax on flippers’ capital gains. What he failed to mention is that California already taxes flip profits. In fact, it taxes them at the same rate as regular income — as high as

Charter school network filed plans in Mott Haven

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 05:00 AM PDT

One school network is charting its course straight through one of the Bronx’s busiest neighborhoods. Charter network KIPP NYC filed plans for a school at 75 Canal Street West in Mott Haven, Crain’s reported. The plans call for a 150,000-square-foot building, standing seven stories and 70 feet tall. Perkins Eastman is listed as the architect of record for the project, which is anticipated to cost $117 million. KIPP NYC has set a goal of opening

Betting the firm: Inside the changing business of residential brokerage

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 04:30 AM PDT

When Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook’s metaverse pivot last fall, he laid out the vision for a not-too-distant future of extreme online immersion. While his prophecies raised plenty of questions and sneers about a workday glued to the headset, a useful case study already exists, thanks to the traditionally hidebound world of residential brokerage. Since 2016, eXp — the world’s fastest-growing brokerage, with 70,000 agents and counting — has made its digital platform, eXp World, central

Midtown South hotel’s value chopped in half: Mid-market report

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 04:00 AM PDT

The rebound in business travel did not come in time for one Midtown South hotel. A 132-key hotel called the Gregory has emerged from foreclosure with approximately half the value it had after Meadow Partners’ spent about $60 million to buy it in 2014 and renovate it. The foreclosure sale was one of 10 deals between $10 million and $40 million recorded in New York City last week. Manhattan and Brooklyn each had four and

Behold subsidy-grabbing NFL owner’s Florida estate

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 03:30 PM PDT

Fans of literature know Camelot as the lavish, mythical capital from which the legendary King Arthur ruled. Terry and Kim Pegula, owners of the Buffalo Bills, have their own Camelot, a lavish residence from which they’re watching Gov. Kathy Hochul fall on her sword to subsidize their new stadium. Hochul’s agreement to hand the billionaires $850 million in public money to keep the team in Buffalo for the next 30 years has sparked an uproar

Listed for first time in 40 years, Murray Hill mansion asks $33M

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 03:00 PM PDT

A Gilded Age mansion in Murray Hill is on the market for only the third time since it was built at the turn of the 20th century. Known as the James F.D. Lanier Residence, the opulent, 11,600-square-foot townhouse at 123 East 35th Street is asking $33 million. Citing a non-disclosure agreement, listing agent Edward F. Joseph with Christie’s International Real Estate Group declined to identify the seller. Bassam Alghanim, a former billionaire and one of