The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Brother from the same mother: Knotel, Rhino CEOs didn’t disclose family tie on insurance deal

Posted: 18 May 2020 04:38 PM PDT

When flex-office provider Knotel struck a deal with insurance startup Rhino, the two firms failed to disclose that their CEOs were related. Knight RE — which backstopped surety bonds Rhino issued on two Knotel leases — said it was not informed that Knotel CEO Amol Sarva was the older brother of Rhino CEO Paraag Sarva, Business Insider reported. The reinsurance company has since told Rhino that no similar bonds could be issued “due to the

New twist in decade-long landlord-tenant fight

Posted: 18 May 2020 04:05 PM PDT

After 10 years and two attempts to oust Abdelhakim Houmita from his rent-stabilized apartment, a Long Island City landlord is hoping the third time will be the charm. In the saga’s latest chapter, Collpoint Enterprises, an entity tied to Ben and Frank Biordi, has sued Houmita, claiming he is illegally subletting his unit — despite being in federal custody for the past 18 months. Among the landlord’s grievances is that Houmita installed a makeshift bidet.

CoStar unmoved as NYC brokers seek discounts

Posted: 18 May 2020 02:48 PM PDT

With commercial brokerage “shut down,” dozens of New York firms are asking CoStar Group to discount the hefty subscription fees they pay to the data giant each month. In a letter, 52 independent firms said the “abrupt and harsh economic downturn” caused by the coronavirus has had a “swift” impact on their business. Smaller firms were hit hardest, with many projecting 18 to 36 months before business in New York returns to normal. Their May

Editor’s note: One nation, under Covid

Posted: 18 May 2020 02:30 PM PDT

After more than 17 years of coverage that’s spread from New York and its surroundings to South Florida, Los Angeles and Chicago, we’re excited to present a combined issue that brings The Real Deal’s stories to doorsteps around the country. You are reading TRD’s first national issue. In a world that’s increasingly globalized (even as we’re individually isolated), our newsroom is covering more national news that affects every market more than ever before. Bringing together our local magazines under

J.C. Penney to close 242 stores in bankruptcy restructuring

Posted: 18 May 2020 02:00 PM PDT

Department store J.C. Penney announced Monday it plans to close 242 stores across the country as part of its bankruptcy restructuring. The 118-year-old company filed for bankruptcy Friday. The stores to be closed comprise about 30 percent of J.C. Penney locations and will leave it with just over 600 stores nationwide, according to the New York Times. While the coronavirus pandemic and resulting retailer closures likely factored into J.C. Penney’s bankruptcy, the company was in

TRD INSIGHTS: MBA finds 8% of home loans in forbearance

Posted: 18 May 2020 01:10 PM PDT

The share of home loans in forbearance grew again last week while relief requests slowed, according to weekly figures released Monday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgages in forbearance made up 8.2 percent of servicers’ portfolios for the week. That was up from 7.9 percent for the week ending May 3 and 7.6 percent for the week before that. The pace of forbearance requests has dropped, however. Such requests accounted for 0.32 percent of servicing

EXCLUSIVE: CoStar’s Andy Florance on buying Ten-X, the future of office buildings and why brokers don’t need discounts

Posted: 18 May 2020 12:00 PM PDT

Commercial real estate is navigating perhaps its greatest challenge in a generation, if not more. Many of the world’s most prominent companies have indicated that their needs for office space will shrink dramatically, and some analysts have said this could be the end of the office market being a “boring” asset with predictable cash flows. Those shifts have big implications for CoStar Group, the largest data provider in the U.S. commercial real estate market with

Masa Son says Jesus Christ was also misunderstood

Posted: 18 May 2020 11:45 AM PDT

Masayoshi Son, whose SoftBank is facing $13 billion in losses thanks to splashy bets on flailing startups, made a surprising comparison on a private earnings call Monday. When analysts questioned the Japanese conglomerate’s dismal performance, Son at one point responded that Jesus was also criticized and misunderstood, the Financial Times reported, citing three sources who were on the call. The record losses primarily stemmed from SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund, which has poured billions of

Mystery investor dumps big stake in real estate fund

Posted: 18 May 2020 11:00 AM PDT

As stocks tumbled last week, an unknown institution sold more than 10.5 million shares of an exchanged-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500’s real estate sector. The $333 million securities dump represented 7.4 percent of outstanding shares of the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund, a macro indicator of the industry’s largest companies. The May 12 trade — a dark-pool transaction priced at $31.54 per share — expressed a lack of confidence in the industry,

“Lonely lotto winners”: Luxury contracts fall again in Manhattan

Posted: 18 May 2020 10:30 AM PDT

After a brief glimmer of activity, luxury deals have fallen again in Manhattan. There were just two contracts signed last week for properties above $4 million, according to the latest luxury report from Olshan Realty. That comes on the back of a week in which six contracts were signed — the highest total since the shutdown took effect. In an unpredictable climate, Donna Olshan, author of the report, said the fallout from the pandemic was

TRD’s national May issue is live!

Posted: 18 May 2020 10:00 AM PDT

The Real Deal‘s first national issue is here! We’ve consolidated our best coverage across all of our markets this month to bring a robust national perspective that will help you stay ahead during the global pandemic and economic tailspin. Our May issue includes the same in-depth coverage and insider knowledge our readers have come to expect over the years with an expanded look into four of the biggest real estate markets around the country: New

Hope springs ephemeral: Brooklyn luxe market retreats

Posted: 18 May 2020 09:30 AM PDT

The Brooklyn luxury market had its slowest week yet since the coronavirus began ravaging New York City: Only one contract was signed. The deal was for a condo at 425 3rd Street in Park Slope, which was asking just under $2.5 million, according to the latest report from Compass. The report looks at homes in the borough asking $2 million or more. The three-bedroom condo, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, spans 1,790 square feet and

Silicon Valley embraces “work from anywhere” ethos

Posted: 18 May 2020 09:00 AM PDT

The tech industry, which for years has lured workers with amenity-laden offices, might be shifting to “work from anywhere” as a recruiting tool. Some tech companies say the changes spurred by the coronavirus — particularly the big jump in working from home — will have a lasting impact on how their industry recruits and functions, according to the Wall Street Journal. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has already said that most of his employees can work

How to open up our offices on tonight’s TRD Talk

Posted: 18 May 2020 08:20 AM PDT

At 2 p.m. Pacific/ 5 p.m. Eastern today, TRD Managing Web Editor James Kleimann will be joined by Director of Research & Analytics for CBRE Tri-State Nicole LaRusso, Vice Chairman & Director at Savills David Goldstein, and President of Newmark Knight Frank’s Tri-State region David Falk to discuss the future of office space. As mandatory stay-at-home orders begin to roll back, many office workers are wondering what kind of spaces they’ll be returning to. A

The office startup’s new look: Fewer desks, shuttered conference rooms

Posted: 18 May 2020 07:51 AM PDT

For years, co-working and flexible office space firms sold memberships by touting the value of flexibility and community. But with re-opening on the horizon, many view the latter as a liability. To minimize the risk of shoulder-to-shoulder workspaces, many are overhauling spaces in the age of coronavirus. Earlier this month, Convene said it would reduce office capacity by 50 percent to allow workers to maintain social distancing. Industrious will keep communal areas closed for the

Whistleblower: Wall Street Has Engaged in Widespread Manipulation of Mortgage Funds

Posted: 18 May 2020 07:20 AM PDT

This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Among the toxic contributors to the financial crisis of 2008, few caused as much havoc as mortgages with dodgy numbers and inflated values. Huge quantities of them were assembled into securities that crashed and burned, damaging homeowners and investors alike. Afterward, reforms were promised. Never

Zillow relaunches iBuying program

Posted: 18 May 2020 06:47 AM PDT

Zillow is relaunching its instant homebuying program, making it the latest iBuyer to resume operations. The listings portal — which in recent years made a big bet on homebuying — announced Monday that it is resuming its Zillow Offers program in Phoenix, Tucson, Charlotte and Raleigh. Zillow had paused home purchases in all 24 of its markets on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it expects to restart the program in additional markets

WeWork’s valuation drops to $2.9B

Posted: 18 May 2020 06:02 AM PDT

WeWork’s valuation has dropped to $2.9 billion — a far cry from $47 billion at its peak. The office-space provider was most recently valued at $7.8 billion in the fall, after it agreed to a takeover by SoftBank following a failed attempt to go public. SoftBank, WeWork’s biggest backer, disclosed the valuation in its earnings on Monday, Bloomberg reported. WeWork’s business model has been under pressure because of the coronavirus pandemic, as stay-at-home orders across

TRD Insights: Most companies will reopen their offices in phases, CBRE global survey shows

Posted: 18 May 2020 05:15 AM PDT

As jurisdictions around the world have begun the tricky process of reopening their economies — all while hoping to avoid a resurgence of coronavirus in the process — a survey by CBRE has found that most companies are taking a cautious approach. The survey included 203 large companies across the globe, spanning 4.2 billion square feet of office, industrial, retail and other kinds of workspace, and over 38 million workers. Of those companies, 72 percent

Joseph Chetrit’s townhouse sale led mid-market NYC deals last week

Posted: 18 May 2020 04:30 AM PDT

There were two mid-market investment sales in New York City last week: a townhouse on the Upper East Side and a mixed-use building in Greenwich Village. Here are the details: 1. Joseph Chetrit’s Manhattan townhouse sale hit property records on Tuesday. The developer sold 118 East 76th Street on the Upper East Side for slightly less than $25 million, and the deed identifies the buyer only as ZMMSG LLC, an entity tied to a post

Office owners brace for competition — from their tenants

Posted: 18 May 2020 04:00 AM PDT

As companies consider longer-term plans to work from home and the economy struggles, Manhattan’s office landlords are facing the specter of competing with their own tenants to lease space. Major tenants such as Macy’s and WeWork have already made plans to offer up hundreds of thousands of square footage on the sublet market. Others are likely to follow suit, as companies look to trim costs by renting their excess space. “We do expect a good