The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Columbia Property Trust hits guidance but edges down

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 04:29 PM PST

Columbia Property Trust’s funds from operations slid in 2019 from the year before. The office real estate investment trust in its fourth-quarter earnings package Thursday said its normalized FFO for the year came in at $174.3 million, down from about $184 million in 2018. The FFO for the year worked out to $1.50 per share, which Columbia noted was in line with its guidance, which had been raised. In 2018, the full-year per-share figure was

Adam Neumann is asking $37M for Gramercy Park triplex

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 03:39 PM PST

Former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann has listed his six-bedroom triplex penthouse for $37.5 million. The listing price is $2 million more than what Neumann paid for the 7,880-square-foot luxury condominium at 78 Irving Place in 2017, when his wealth ballooned with WeWork’s success. It is among several pieces of real estate he is looking to offload since the company he founded imploded last year. On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that Neumann had sold his majority stake

Opulent Plaza Hotel unit listed for $45M

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 03:30 PM PST

An elaborate, four-bedroom unit at the Plaza Hotel is looking for a wealthy new owner. Asking $45 million, the property features crystal chandeliers, paneled walls and gold finishes, according to a listing on Douglas Elliman’s website. The property is owned by a company associated with Olga Kogan of Russia, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing property records. A 2009 report said Kogan’s husband, Valery Kogan, was the head of the company that manages Moscow

RXR project caught up in alleged Gambino mob scheme

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 03:13 PM PST

An RXR Realty project in Yonkers is one of several ensnared in the alleged kickback and bribery scheme that led to the indictment of an HFZ Capital Group executive last year, according to court documents reviewed by The Real Deal. A project manager for Larkin Plaza, developed by RXR and Yonkers-based Rising Development, accepted bribes in the form of free construction materials for a jiu-jitsu gym in White Plains that the manager is “associated with,”

Cuomo veto spares condos, co-ops from paying prevailing wage

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 03:00 PM PST

The real estate industry just scored a quiet victory in Albany. Gov. Andrew Cuomo pocket-vetoed a bill that would strip a popular property tax abatement from condominium and cooperative homeowners in larger buildings that failed to pay building service workers prevailing wage. The legislation, which was backed by building service workers union 32BJ SEIU, was not delivered to the governor’s desk until Dec. 30, and therefore died when he failed to sign it within 30

First American to buy Docutech for $350M

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 02:41 PM PST

Title insurance giant First American has reached a deal to buy housing tech company Docutech for $350 million. The deal should close by the end of March, and Docutech’s current management team, including president and CEO Amy Brandt, will stay on board to lead the company, according to HousingWire. Companies including CoreLogic, Ellie May and Roostify use Docutech’s services, which include eSign and eClosing technology. First American made the acquisition with an eye on moving

Done deal: Forever 21 sold to Simon, Brookfield venture for $81M

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 02:15 PM PST

A bankruptcy court judge on Thursday officially gave the green light on the sale of Forever 21 to a trio of investors — two of which are the retailer’s top landlords. Simon Property Group, Brookfield Property Partners and Authentic Brands Group will pay $81 million for the company. The deal means Forever 21’s founding family, the Changs, have given up ownership after almost 35 years running the global discount fashion retailer. David Simon, CEO of

Data alert! Manhattan condo inventory through December 2019

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 02:00 PM PST

New Development Condo Report Manhattan • Inventory expanded as developers filed more units than were purchased • Developers filed 12 plans with a total of 298 units. • The state approved 1 plan with 14 units valued at $42 million for sale • Buyers purchased 121 units valued at $646 million. Supply Demand

Con Ed threatens to pull plug on four Dawnay Day buildings

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 01:15 PM PST

Citing unpaid bills, Con Edison warned it would cut power to at least four rent-stabilized buildings in Emerald Equity’s troubled Dawnay Day portfolio. The utility posted notices this week alerting tenants that Emerald Equity missed payments totaling $10,394 at 124 East 117th Street and had until March 4 until the lights go off. Emerald only owed $658 at 244 East 117th Street, according to a February 10 email from Con Edison, which nonetheless gave the

Everything you need to know about the sudden upheaval of rental commissions

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 01:00 PM PST

No more rental fees! Wait, no fees only if the landlord hires the agent. Scratch that, fees are back. For now. It’s been a whirlwind week for New York City renters, agents and landlords since the Department of State blindsided brokers with guidance that attempted to change the way rental agents have been paid for decades. In its interpretation of June’s rent law, the agency said tenants no longer had to pay an agent retained

Living New York acquires Mdrn. amid tumult in rental market

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 12:46 PM PST

As rental firms grapple with rising costs and threats to their commission fees, two mid-sized brokerages — Living New York and Mdrn. Residential — are joining forces, The Real Deal learned. Living, a Midtown firm focused on landlord representation, has acquired Mdrn., the companies said Thursday. Founded in 2004, Living owns a portfolio of buildings and it has 120-plus exclusive landlord relationships across 375 buildings, according to its website. In a statement, Living co-founder Devin

NYCHA inks $1.5B deal to privatize management of 5,900 units

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 12:25 PM PST

The New York City Housing Authority has reached a deal to bring thousands of Manhattan and Brooklyn apartments under private management and do $1.5 billion worth of work. Five development teams including L+M Development Partners, Hudson Companies and Settlement Housing Fund will take charge of management and repairs at seven housing complexes totaling 5,908 units, the Housing Authority announced Thursday after Crain’s reported the deal. The projects are East New York’s Linden Houses and Boulevard

“We underwrite every investment like we’re going to hit a recession”: Brookfield CEO

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 11:40 AM PST

One of the world’s largest commercial landlords isn’t troubled by predictions about a global economic decline, in fact, its CEO said the company bakes that possibility into every deal. Speaking at its fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday, Brookfield Asset Management CEO Bruce Flatt said the private equity giant always factors in a down market. “All investments slow with an economic decline, for a time,” he said. “But then private equity funds will have very

Think you know real estate? Take our quiz to find out

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 10:45 AM PST

So you’re a broker/developer/architect/aspiring architect/interior designer/stager or financier in real estate and know a ton of people. But do you really know real estate? Take our quiz below to find out!

Safehold was top-performing REIT of 2019 and doesn’t own any buildings

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 10:25 AM PST

The real estate investment trust that posted the strongest returns last year doesn’t own any buildings — just $2.7 billion worth of land underneath them. Safehold, the ground lease REIT managed by iStar, saw total stock returns of 118 percent in 2019, the firm announced Thursday morning in its fourth-quarter earnings, while the company’s portfolio grew by 187 percent over the same period. Revenue increased 88 percent to $93.4 million while net earnings rose 136

City Comptroller Scott Stringer proposes “Tenant Bill of Rights”

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 07:30 AM PST

City Comptroller Scott Stringer is proposing a Tenant Bill of Rights to protect renters from “unscrupulous landlords.” Under the plan, landlords would be required to give the document to tenants at every lease signing. It would detail 17 existing legal protections in place. Stringer would need support from Council Speaker and rival mayoral hopeful Corey Johnson — as well as another council member — for the plan to have any chance, the New York Daily

South Brooklyn mixed-use shopping portfolio trades for $165M

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 07:00 AM PST

Another large mixed-use shopping center in southern Brooklyn has traded hands. A partnership between Infinity Real Estate and Nightingale Properties sold the T.J. Maxx and Target-anchored retail-and-office Kingswood Portfolio in Midwood for $165 million, the sellers told The Real Deal. The buyer is real estate investment trust Urban Edge Properties, which focuses on shopping centers. Infinity managing partner Steven Kassin told TRD that Urban Edge made an unsolicited offer to buy the 340,000-square-foot portfolio in

LA — not Manhattan — topped US investment sales in 2019

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 06:30 AM PST

Los Angeles County surpassed Manhattan to become the top investment sales market in the U.S. last year, totaling more than $28 billion on record-high multifamily and industrial activity. Part of L.A.’s high dollar amount was attributed to foreign investors — including the continued pullback from Chinese firms — that sold off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets. According to CBRE’s capital markets report for 2019, multifamily sales volume reached $9.5 billion and industrial

“It didn’t happen:” Bronx leader says Opportunity Zone program failed to deliver

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 06:05 AM PST

In the Bronx, where there are 74 designated Opportunity Zones, the borough’s head of economic development was one of many who believed the federal tax break would bring big changes. “We have always been the most ignored,” Marlene Cintron told an audience of lawyers and developers in November 2018. “These Opportunity Zones are here for you to take advantage of them.” But now, after the investment she envisaged failed to materialize, Cintron has changed her

Small Talk: I Am the Other Person Interested in Buying This Home

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 05:30 AM PST

Hi there. It’s me, the other person the broker told you was interested in this property. Yes, that’s right: I’m real; I’m rich; and I am more motivated than you could possibly imagine. When I was eight years old, my dad let me skip school on a beautiful day in May so I could go to a Mets game with him. That was the last time in my life I felt happy until yesterday, when

Residential rents continue upward march in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 05:00 AM PST

As apartment hunters try to figure out what on earth is going on with broker fees, they now have other news to give them pause: Rents were 5 percent to 6 percent higher last month than a year earlier in all three boroughs covered by the Douglas Elliman market report. The median rent price in Manhattan was up 5 percent to $3,595, according to the report. For units in new developments, January was the ninth

Sizing up Manhattan’s condo crunch following a decade of boom and bust

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 04:30 AM PST

It was set to be the tallest condo tower in Lower Manhattan, capped with a ring of golden bands that arched toward the sky. But as the new year arrived, with the high-end condo market in freefall, developers Madison Equities and Gemdale Properties pulled the plug last month on their 1,115-foot supertall at 45 Broad Street, citing “market conditions.” In the previous quarter, sales in the Financial District sank almost 45 percent. Now, the project

Broker-fee ban could boost some startups, doom others

Posted: 13 Feb 2020 04:00 AM PST

As rental agents descended into apoplexy after a state agency ruled that tenants need not pay their fees, one corner of the industry quietly cheered. Startups pursuing various strategies to help renters find a home saw the Department of State guidance released last week as a validation of their businesses, some of which aim to circumvent agents or eliminate broker fees. “Exclusivity agreements are kind of becoming radioactive,” said Lee Lin, founder of listings platform