The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

A win for real estate: Socialist candidate halts Assembly bid

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 04:13 PM PST

There is one fewer thorn in the side of real estate today. Boris Santos, a former public school teacher who planned to challenge north Brooklyn Assembly member Erik Dilan, suspended his campaign late Tuesday afternoon. The announcement is a blow to the Democratic Socialists of America, who endorsed Santos last year. Given that Santos’ former boss, Sen. Julia Salazar, ousted Dilan’s father Martin Dilan from the Senate in 2018, Santos was viewed as a credible

GDS, Klövern buy Midtown East co-op for $184M

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 03:33 PM PST

Klövern AB of Sweden and GDS Development Management have paid $184 million for all 29 units at a Midtown East co-op building, paving the way for the partnership to take advantage of the neighborhood’s rezoning. The companies purchased all the apartments in 417 Park Avenue, a 14-story co-op constructed in 1916. The property is located within the 70-plus blocks the city rezoned in 2017, allowing for the address to have an office building with a

Netflix’s “Dirty Money” series delves Jared Kushner, 1MDB scandal

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 01:00 PM PST

Two years ago, the Netflix documentary series “Dirty Money” trained its sights on Donald Trump in an episode it called “The Confidence Man.” This time around, it’s staying in the real estate world and in the family. The show will devote an episode of its second season to Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and former CEO of Kushner Companies, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “Dirty Money” will also look into the 1MDB scandal. Federal authorities

Keller Williams reports sales bump with fewer agents in 2019

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 12:26 PM PST

After purging its roster of non-performing agents, Keller Williams said its 2019 sales volume rose 5.7 percent despite the lower headcount. The Gary Keller-led company, which is the largest franchise brokerage in the U.S., said agents closed more than 1.13 million transactions in 2019, up 3.4 percent year-over-year. Sales volume rose to $351.2 billion, up from $332.4 billion in 2018. But as of Dec. 31, 2019, Keller Williams said it had 169,317 agents worldwide. In

Adam Neumann’s triplex, Russians’ Plaza pad were priciest homes listed last week

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 11:30 AM PST

Heading into a long weekend, a handful of sellers had lofty hopes. The second week of February saw pricier listings than usual come online, with homes asking up to $45 million hitting the market. Notable sellers include a wealthy Russian couple and former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann. Combined, the five most expensive listings in New York City totaled $152.49 million. That’s nearly $62 million more than the previous week’s $90.96 million. The difference had more

Compass sets sights on Long Island’s North Shore

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 10:45 AM PST

Since last winter, Compass has sworn off launching new markets as it focuses on “depth, not breadth.” But on Long Island, that’s about to change. The SoftBank-backed brokerage is planning to launch on the North Shore, with offices in Manhasset and Cold Spring Harbor. No managers or leases are in place, sources said. But Douglas Elliman’s Nicholas Colombos announced his move to Compass on social media earlier this month. Colombos, along with Angela Dooley and

Brooklyn man arrested for claiming to help victims buy Mitchell-Lama apartments

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 10:37 AM PST

Authorities arrested a Brooklyn man charged with bilking three women out of tens of thousands of dollars in a scheme to jump the wait list to buy Mitchell-Lama apartments. Akim Sokolovski, 63, allegedly told the victims that he could help them buy apartments at the Mitchell-Lama complex he lives in — if they paid him in cash to avoid the lengthy waitlist at the property, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said in a release. The

Cobble Hill townhouse was Brooklyn’s priciest contract last week

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 10:15 AM PST

A townhouse in Cobble Hill was the priciest residential deal to go into contract in Brooklyn last week. The four-bedroom unit at 355 Henry Street went for $5.4 million. It spans 13,600 square feet and went into contract at its asking price after 146 days on the market. Overall, Brooklyn saw 19 contracts signed for $2 million or more last week, split between 12 houses and seven condos, according to the latest report from Compass.

How Blackstone became the world’s biggest landlord

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 09:30 AM PST

Until about a decade ago, Blackstone Group derived most of its profits from traditional private equity. But following a dramatic expansion into real estate driven by CEO-in-waiting Jonathan Gray, massive property deals are now the company’s calling card. With an estimated real estate portfolio of $325 billion, Blackstone is now the world’s largest real estate company, according to Fortune. Of that total, $163 billion comes from Blackstone’s own real estate equity capital — which has

With asking prices in freefall, luxury market sees strong week

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 08:45 AM PST

The penthouse at World Wide Group and Rose & Associates’ 252 East 57th Street started life in 2014 asking an aspirational $37.5 million. Last week — with the building now complete and the market vastly different — the unit finally went into contract asking $23.75 million, a drop of 36 percent. It was the priciest of 20 contracts signed last week, according to a market report from Olshan Realty, illustrating the negotiations developers are engaging

Keller Williams will cut off agents who leave

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 08:00 AM PST

Keller Williams is cutting off associates who dump the franchise brokerage. Effective April 1, the company’s lifelong profit sharing program will not be available to associates who leave to join a competitor, Inman reported. The vesting period for associates to receive profit sharing has also increased from three consecutive years to seven consecutive years. The changes were made by the company’s International Associate Leadership Council meeting on Feb. 15, during its annual “Family Reunion” conference

Brookfield fund buying SL Green’s 315 West 33rd Street for $447M

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 07:21 AM PST

A Brookfield Asset Management-backed fund is buying 315 West 33rd Street from SL Green for $446.5 million, SL Green announced on Tuesday. The fund, known as Brookfield Premier Real Estate Partners, bought the mixed-use building known as “The Olivia” along with an adjacent parcel of undeveloped land for a price that worked out to roughly $906 per square foot. The deal should close by the second quarter of the year. SL Green co-Chief Investment Officer

Trader Joe’s to open new UES store under Queensboro bridge

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 07:17 AM PST

Trader Joe’s is continuing its New York City expansion. The city-owned space under the Queensboro Bridge spans roughly 50,000 square feet and was previously home to a Food Emporium, which closed five years ago. Patch.com first reported the news. Art supply retailer Michaels applied to fill the landmarked space on East 59th Street and First Avenue in 2017, but those plans fell through amid concerns over the store’s design. The fact the space was previously

More NYC hotel loans are defaulting as room rates fall

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 06:50 AM PST

New York City has seen a spate of high-profile hotel loans go into default in recent months, and challenging market fundamentals certainly aren’t helping. The average daily room rate for New York hotels dropped to $255.16 last year — the lowest point since at least 2013 — the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from STR. And with more than 22,000 hotel rooms in the pipeline, that figure is set to weaken further. A $260

Midtown East condo tower could face big height cut following court order on 200 Amsterdam

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 06:13 AM PST

Last Thursday, a judge issued an extraordinary court order requiring the deconstruction of 20-some floors on a Upper West Side condo tower. While the developers have already announced plans to appeal, the decision has renewed hopes for opponents of similar supertall towers elsewhere in Manhattan. City Council Member Ben Kallos, whose district covers much of Midtown East and the Upper East Side, told the New York Post that his office is going to file a

Is Olnick bluffing on Lenox Terrace? History says no

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 05:30 AM PST

When City Council member Bill Perkins announced he was opposing the Olnick Organization’s Lenox Terrace expansion, the development appeared doomed: Perkins wields de facto veto power over the rezoning it needed. “This project is not good for our community,” Perkins said last week, according to Politico. “The Olnick Organization has shown itself to be a bad player in this community for years, not just since this zoning change was conceived over a decade ago.” Olnick’s

Gramercy Park dev site leads New York’s mid-market investment sales

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 05:00 AM PST

The $40.5 million sale of five parcels of vacant land in Gramercy Park led New York’s mid-market investment sales last week. Other deals included the $27 million purchase of three multifamily buildings in Brooklyn and the $26 million purchase of a Long Island City garage. Here are the details: Minrav Development purchased 305-311 First Avenue and 343 East 17th Street in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park from CIM Group for a total of $40.5 million. The firm

How much bigger can Brookfield get?

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 04:30 AM PST

You don’t become the city’s biggest commercial landlord without taking some big risks. Buying malls when everyone says brick-and-mortar retail is dying. Building a megaproject in the South Bronx where other developers still fear to tread. Taking on 666 Fifth Avenue when the notorious office building’s reputation has lived up to its address. Brookfield Asset Management did all of these things, all while taking on acquisitions that few other firms would be able to absorb.

A $90 million patch of dirt: A look at Jeff Bezos’ other record LA deal last week

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 04:00 AM PST

Jeff Bezos’ $165 million purchase of David Geffen’s fabled Beverly Hills estate was a shot in the arm for the country’s ultra-luxury market and set a new high-water mark for Los Angeles real estate. But it also ended up making the Amazon chief’s other megadeal this week – $90 million for a patch of Beverly Hills land owned by the estate of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen — something of an afterthought. The anticipated