The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Murdoch’s Move Inc. buys lead generation startup for $210M

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 03:20 PM PDT

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is adding to its real estate arsenal. The media giant said Wednesday that subsidiary Move Inc. — which operates the listing portal Realtor.com — entered into an agreement to buy lead generation startup Opcity for $210 million. The deal will expand on Realtor’s ability to generate leads for agents, the company said. Inman first reported news of the deal. Austin-based Opcity uses an algorithm to instantly pair agents and mortgage brokers […]

Bill Gross’ daughter snags a penthouse at 160 Leroy

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 03:15 PM PDT

Jennifer Stengaard Gross, daughter of Pimco founder Bill Gross, bought a penthouse at Ian Schrager’s 160 Leroy Street. The apartment sold for $28 million, according to the New York City Department of Finance. It was listed for $31.5 million. Douglas Elliman’s Madeline Hult Elghanayan, Kirk Rundhaug, Lauren Muss and Dennis Mangone had the listing. The penthouse spans roughly 4,800 square feet and includes a roof terrace with a kitchen and private elevator. The unit also […]

Who benefits from a tax cut for the poor? Goldman Sachs

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 03:00 PM PDT

A new tax break meant to benefit low-income areas has opened an opportunity for Goldman Sachs to cash in. A lesser-known portion of the Republican tax overhaul introduced last year created opportunity funds, which are meant to help 8,700 low-income communities selected by state governors and officials, according to Bloomberg. Goldman is uniquely positioned to benefit from the tax break, in part because it’s already been funding deals in struggling areas. The financial firm has […]

Townhouse Property Group is planning a new UES building

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 02:40 PM PDT

Townhouse Property Group is planning an eight-story apartment building on the Upper East Side, and it looks like a condominium project. The plans call for 21 units at 333 East 82nd Street, according to an application filed with the Department of Buildings. The project would span nearly 36,000 square feet, including 620 square feet for a community facility, which puts the average unit at over 1,600 square feet. The application also indicates the top two […]

Pending home sales have dropped for seven straight months

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 02:20 PM PDT

Pending sales for existing homes nationwide dropped by 0.7 percent in between July and June, and have now fallen for seven straight months on an annual basis. The National Association of Realtors’ study of those sales suggests that the slowdown is because of high pricing. Pending sales in July were down 2.3 percent year over year. The organization’s analysis is based on contracts signed for existing single-family homes, condos and co-ops, also making it an […]

Manhattan man allegedly posed as dead rent stabilized tenant for two decades

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 02:00 PM PDT

For more than 20 years, a Manhattan man allegedly pretended to be a dead woman in order to hold onto her rent-stabilized apartment. A lawsuit filed on Tuesday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan claims Shao Tang Hu repeatedly renewed the lease of an apartment at 21 Catherine Street from 1995 to 2017. Hu signed the lease as Boo Hai Lee, who had inked a two-year lease for apartment 3C in the building in 1993, […]

Natixis securitizes $600M mortgage for Maefield’s 20 Times Square

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 01:40 PM PDT

French bank Natixis securitized its $600 million mortgage for Maefield Development’s hotel and retail project at 20 Times Square, according to records filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. Natixis and its partners originated a $2 billion loan to finance Maefield’s acquisition of the property, which is expected to be the future site of 39-story building with a 452-key Marriott Edition hotel. Last February, Mark Siffin-led Maefield bought out its partners, a consortium composed […]

They allegedly had orgies and ragers. Now NYCHA has suspended a pair of supervisors

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 01:20 PM PDT

A pair of NYCHA staff members have been suspended from the Throggs Neck Houses as part of an investigation into sex parties and alcohol consumption at the mismanaged development. Grounds supervisor Brianne Pawson and caretaker Tayron Hazel have both been suspended without pay for 30 days, according to the New York Daily News. NYCHA supervisors and caretakers at the Bronx development have been accused of having orgies in one of the project’s groundskeeper shops. Management at […]

Here’s why home-builders’ shares are tumbling this year

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 01:00 PM PDT

Home builders are lagging behind the broader market. As the stock market returned to all-time highs and consumer confidence is strong, shares of home builders have taken a beating, the Wall Street Journal reported. Toll Brothers has tumbled 23 percent this year while Lennar Corp. slid 17 percent. PulteGroup and D.R. Horton are down 14 percent and 11 percent, respectively. On the other hand, the S&P 500 has climbed 8.4 percent this year. The challenge […]

Eastern Consolidated sues for commission on 2017 office lease

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 12:40 PM PDT

Eastern Consolidated may be disbanded, but its receivables account is still very real. The brokerage is suing landlord David Ishay, claiming it is owed roughly $74,000 in commission for negotiating a lease at the owner’s Bryant Park-area office building in early 2017. Eastern was the sole broker that hammered out the 10-year lease between tenant GIT Group and Ishay – not to be confused with the David Ishay of Gotham Realty Holdings – at the […]

Here’s the next residential development coming to Far Rockaway

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 12:20 PM PDT

Far Rockaway is getting yet another development. Red Group Management filed plans with the Department of Buildings on Wednesday for a 60-unit complex at 128 Beach 9th Street. The development would stand 17 stories tall and span about 78,000 square feet, split between 73,000 square feet of residential space and 5,000 square feet of space for a community facility. The project would replace a one-story commercial building. Red Group did not immediately respond to a […]

WeWork close to inking huge lease at 1 WTC

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 12:00 PM PDT

WeWork may be 1 World Trade Center’s newest tenant. The co-working giant is reportedly close to finalizing a large lease in the office tower, bringing the company closer to being the city’s top office tenant. According to Crain’s, WeWork is looking to lease between 200,000 and 500,000 square feet in the building. A recent report by Cushman & Wakefield noted that the company is the second-largest renter of office space in the city with 4.6 […]

Fortress is doubling down on CRE debt

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 11:30 AM PDT

Fortress Investment Group is in the midst of raising two real estate funds. The SoftBank Capital-owned investment firm is set to close a $1.5 real estate credit fund by the end of the year, and is raising another that will buy real estate debt along with other assets, Bloomberg reported. The latter fund will also invest in loans backed for airplane leases. It’s part of Fortress’ broader strategy to expand its private credit activity. SoftBank […]

Westchester & Fairfield Cheat Sheet: Battle over zoning at Stamford office parks rages on … & more

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 11:00 AM PDT

The battle over zoning for fitness complexes at Stamford office parks rages on Earlier this month, Stamford’s Board of Representatives rejected a zoning change that would have allowed George Comfort & Sons to build a fitness complex at an office park it owns. Now, George Comfort & Sons is appealing the board’s decision, the Stamford Advocate reported. The owner claims the board’s representatives “voted based upon political or other arbitrary or improper reasons or motivations,” […]

These 10 US cities account for 33% of the nation’s residential real estate

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 10:30 AM PDT

The value of all residential real estate in New York City is equivalent to the gross domestic product of France. That surprising — though not astonishing — statistic was among the findings in LendingTree’s new report. It ranks 50 U.S. cities by overall residential value alongside the gross domestic product of comparable nations around the world. The report found that more than one third of the country’s $28.4 trillion in residential real estate value is […]

Activist Mike McKee to subpoena lawmakers, real estate donors in RSA defamation suit

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 10:01 AM PDT

TenantsPAC treasurer Mike McKee, who was hit with a $40 million defamation suit in June by the Rent Stabilization Association, is now planning to subpoena both state senators and real estate figures. The tenant advocate is seeking communications to prove his assertion that the landlord lobby group RSA “promised” $150,000 in contributions to three state senators in 2010, the New York Daily News reported. If McKee follows through with the plan, subpoenas would be sent […]

Supportive housing nonprofit planning new 93-unit Bronx resi project

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 09:15 AM PDT

Unique People Services, a nonprofit organization focused on supportive housing, plans to bring a 93-unit project in the Bronx. The organization filed plans Wednesday with the city’s Department of Buildings for the 13-story, 135-foot project at 2050 Grand Concourse in Mount Hope. The building will span about 64,000 square feet, split between 62,000 square feet of residential space and 2,000 square feet of community space. The property is currently a vacant lot. Representatives from Unique […]

DOJ investigating whether fugitive Jho Low paid legal team with laundered funds

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 08:30 AM PDT

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether a legal team, which includes former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and President Trump’s longtime lawyer Marc Kasowitz, were paid by Malaysian fugitive Jho Low using laundered funds. Low, who is an investor in the Park Lane hotel in Manhattan, was separately charged earlier this week on eight counts in connection with 1 Malaysia Development Bhd., a multibillion dollar sovereign wealth fund Low is alleged to have […]

State bill would stop rent increases attributed to major property upgrades

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 07:45 AM PDT

Two New York State lawmakers have proposed legislation to prohibit rent increases to affordable housing that has undergone major renovations or upgrades. Under the current Major Capital Improvements program, owners of rent-stabilized or affordable properties can increase rents by up to 6 percent if upgrades are made to buildings, or if new windows, boilers and roofs are installed. But there have been multiple documented cases where landlords continue to increase rents even after the upgrades […]

To experiential retail and beyond: Inside FAO Schwarz’s new digs

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 07:14 AM PDT

FAO Schwarz is set to reopen a flagship store at the Rockefeller Center in November. And it’s betting a truly unique experience will generate enough buzz to put the brand back on the map. The company will move into a 20,000-square-foot space in an area where rents are as high as $3,200 a square foot — on one of the most expensive lots in New York City, according to the Wall Street Journal. The re-emergence […]

Contractors at Greystone condo project hit with wage theft lawsuits

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 06:32 AM PDT

A group of construction workers at an Upper West Side condominium project have filed lawsuits against their contractor bosses, claiming they are victims of wage theft. The 10 tradesmen, who conducted work at 164 West 74th Street between April and June this year, are seeking damages of $100,000 against Mark McCarthy of RSK Construction and Andy and Carlos Morales of Real Innovative Construction, according to Commercial Observer. The cases were filed in state and federal […]

Can Compass compete in commercial?

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 06:12 AM PDT

Meridian Capital Group wasn’t looking to build a retail leasing division. But when industry veteran James Famularo became a free agent after the collapse of Eastern Consolidated, Meridian jumped at the opportunity. That wasn’t the case with Compass. The company, which has been growing aggressively since landing $450 million in funding last year from SoftBank, already had plans to launch a commercial division when it hired Eastern’s Adelaide Polsinelli this month. On the West Coast, […]

Koch brother paid cash for Joseph Chetrit’s $40M mansion

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 05:48 AM PDT

David Koch and his wife Julia have been revealed as the mystery buyers of a $40.25 million townhouse sold by real estate mogul Joseph Chetrit. The 15,000-square-foot home was bought earlier this month and paid for in cash, according to the New York Post. It is one of three townhouses Chetrit is selling at 110 East 76th Street. The home, which is the largest of the trio of mansions, was originally listed for $51 million. […]

Investors discount office buildings with high WeWork occupancies: Cushman

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 05:00 AM PDT

WeWork has spread like wildfire in just a few short years and now occupies more than 5.1 million square feet in Manhattan – enough to fill almost two Empire State Buildings. But would an investor want to own a property entirely occupied by – or even one with a relatively large exposure to – the co-working phenom? A new study by Cushman & Wakefield shows that investors apply a discount when pricing office properties with […]

Flipping the switch on home flipping

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 04:30 AM PDT

For former Keller Williams agent Parish Pradhan, home flipping started as a side gig in 2014. That’s when he and a few buddies pooled their money to buy, rehab and flip a single-family home in Westchester County. At the time, no lender would take a risk on a first-time borrower. Four years and 17 deals later, Pradhan is still syndicating money from clients and friends to buy and sell homes in Westchester and Fairfield County, […]

Analysis: New York is one of the worst states for getting info on broker violations

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 04:00 AM PDT

New York State has a remarkably unwieldy system for recording disciplinary actions against real estate brokers, with low usability and confusing organization. But how much better are other states doing? The answer, it turns out, is a lot. In an analysis of equivalent public disclosure systems in six U.S. states with major real estate markets – California, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey and Illinois – the New York Department of State’s “Decision and Consent […]