The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

In Brexit-battered London, flipping condos in contract has become risky business

Posted: 23 Jun 2019 01:00 PM PDT

Sagging home prices in London have injected greater risk into contract reassignment — a practice in which buyers try to make a profit by selling their units before their initial purchase transaction closes. Speculators have made fat profits fast by agreeing in writing to buy luxury real estate in London, then selling the contracts at higher purchase prices. But declining prices for homes across Brexit-battered London have made contract reassignment riskier. Illustrating the point is […]

ICYMI Brokers in cabs: Corcoran Group’s Sydney Blumstein

Posted: 23 Jun 2019 12:00 PM PDT

In the second episode of The Real Deal‘s new series “Brokers In Cabs,” the Corcoran Group’s Sydney Blumstein talked about agent gossip, how a dating competition in her rental broker days led to gobs of new business, the appeal of first-time homebuyers, and why she thinks many developers are three years behind the curve and out of touch with buyers. Blumstein, a New York native who works with her parents on the Blumstein Team, has […]

Canada’s favorite alternative investment? Real estate

Posted: 23 Jun 2019 11:00 AM PDT

Institutional investors in Canada are prioritizing North American real estate over other alternative investment options despite some reservations about financial performance. CIBC Mellon, headquartered in Toronto, commissioned a study to find out more about how institutional investors in Canada were thinking about alternative investments. The report, titled “Race for Assets: Canada vs. the World,” showed that 42 percent of respondents favored real estate for alternative investment. However, the performance of real-estate investments ranked worse than […]

How tiny tubular homes could be a salvation for Hong Kong

Posted: 23 Jun 2019 10:00 AM PDT

Hong Kong may be in a state of unrest, but a local design firm is seeking to mitigate the city’s housing crisis with concrete pipes rebuilt as stackable apartments. James Law Cybertecture is seeking city approval to offer micro apartments made from concrete water pipes, called OPod Tube Housing. The firm has built a prototype for its tiny home approach by transforming a pipe that is 2.5 meters wide, or a little more than eight […]

This rocker ex-couple is still trying to break up with their LA mansion

Posted: 23 Jun 2019 09:00 AM PDT

Rockers Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale’s marriage went south a long time ago, but now there is no doubt they still own a mansion in the 90210 ZIP code. The 15,500-square-foot home hit the market in 2016 — a short time after the couple divorced — for $35 million. Now it’s on the market with a price cut, for $24 million, according to the Los Angeles Times. The 31% price chop is not uncommon among […]

Italy’s new tax haven status a boon to Tuscan luxury market

Posted: 23 Jun 2019 08:00 AM PDT

The Tuscany region of Italy’s status as a tax haven has local homeowners and real estate brokers seeing green. Italy’s government in 2017 passed a law that created a flat income tax for new residents of Tuscany. New residents of the region have to pay only a 100,000-euro tax, or about $124,000, on all income generated outside of Italy. More than 400 new residents have taken up the offer to establish residency in Tuscany, and […]

Sotheby’s to open new brokerage in the Middle East

Posted: 23 Jun 2019 07:00 AM PDT

Sotheby’s International Realty is growing in the Middle East. The brokerage firm is adding a new arm in Qatar, Inman reported. The branch, to be headquartered in the capital of Doha, will be owned by lifestyle conglomerate Alfardan Group and will focus on luxury residential markets. It also will work with clients who are looking to buy real estate around the globe, according to Inman. Philip White, president and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty, in […]

Velkommen, Bienvenue: Langham Hotels scouting new locations in Europe

Posted: 23 Jun 2019 06:00 AM PDT

The Langham Hospitality Group is eyeing a European expansion. More than 20 years after the Hong Kong-based hotel brand transformed the Langham London into one of the city’s most prestigious luxury hotels, parent company Great Eagle Holdings is considering adding a location in mainland Europe, according to Skift. The expansion would come on the heels of a nearly 8 percent boost in Great Eagle Holdings’ core revenue from 2017 to 2018, reaching $851 million last […]