The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

US hotel occupancy rises to 44%, but top markets still lag

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 01:49 PM PDT

The good news is that hotel occupancy across the country rose for the 10th consecutive week. The bad news is the overall rate is still very low. And in some major markets like New York, it actually dropped. About 44 percent of hotel rooms in the U.S. were occupied for the week ending June 20, that’s two percentage points above from the previous week’s total, according to hotel data tracker STR. It’s also twice the

OJO Labs, AI startup, raises $62.5M to buy listing portal

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 01:35 PM PDT

OJO Labs, an Austin-based startup with an AI-powered digital home-buying assistant, has raised $62.5 million in fresh capital and will acquire Movoto, a residential listings site, the company said Wednesday. OJO said the Series D was led by Wafra with participation from Breyer Capital, LiveOak Venture Partners, Royal Bank of Canada and Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures. It brings the company’s total funding to $134 million since 2015. Forbes first reported the funding round. Movoto is

Restaurant reopenings jump 50% in NYC

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 01:15 PM PDT

In the past two days, the city has seen nearly a 50 percent increase in restaurants opening for outdoor dining, the de Blasio administration said Wednesday. On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that 3,192 restaurants applied to reopen with seating on sidewalks and curb lanes or in existing outdoor areas. Wednesday morning, that number jumped to about 4,800, according to the mayor’s office. Even so, those reopened make up a fraction of the approximately

iBreakup: Keller Williams, Offerpad part ways on home-buying partnership

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 12:43 PM PDT

Keller Williams and Offerpad have scrapped their exclusive instant home-buying partnership after less than a year. The Austin-based brokerage said Wednesday that it plans to expand Keller Offers with “other major funding partners,” as it is “no longer in an exclusive agreement with Offerpad.” Keller Williams didn’t directly comment on why the partnership broke down, but it likely had something to do with different iBuying strategies after the coronavirus struck. Whereas Offerpad and other major

Condo project beats the odds, lands $204M loan

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 12:31 PM PDT

A Midtown building that has found buyers for only seven of 68 units since sales launched in 2017 has received a cash lifeline. Singapore’s United Overseas Bank has issued the East 59th Street tower a $204 million condo inventory loan for the 61 unsold residences, an 18,000-square-foot commercial unit and 981 Third Avenue, a 9,500-square-foot retail property one door down. The loan was first reported by PincusCo Media. The refinancing comes on the heels of

Trump could face massive tax bill with proposed sale of office towers

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 12:30 PM PDT

If President Trump’s company were to sell its stake in a pair of big-ticket office towers, it could face a large, and politically fraught tax bill. The Trump Organization is considering selling its minority stake in a pair of office buildings in 1290 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan and 555 California Street in San Francisco, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. The West Coast building could trade for more than $2 billion, sources familiar with the offering told the

Unpaid bills force NYC restaurateurs and landlords to come to the table

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 11:15 AM PDT

Every day that the city is more or less shut down, is another day of bills piling up for John Moloney. Moloney, who already owns two pubs in Manhattan — titled John Doe and The Junction — and a third in Queens — Austin Public — was planning a grande opening for a fourth when Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all eateries must shut their doors for the unforeseeable future. Restaurateurs operating the nearly

Initial vote count shows pro-tenant candidates poised for wins

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 10:45 AM PDT

As polls closed on Tuesday, progressives across New York City took victory laps — even though primary election winners won’t be determined until a record number of absentee ballots are counted starting July 1. A number of state legislators favored by real estate had disappointing nights. In a Brooklyn Senate race, Assembly member Tremaine Wright trails public school teacher Jabari Brisport, who is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, 17,113 to 13,301, after polling-site

Lone Star affiliate reaches $17M settlement with NY homeowners

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 10:15 AM PDT

A lender owned by an affiliate of Texas-based Lone Star Funds has reached a settlement after an investigation found it engaged in unfair lending practices. Caliber Home Loans will provide its borrowers with $17 million in relief, according to an announcement by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office. An investigation by the AG’s office concluded that Caliber had placed thousands of customers into unfair, interest-only loan modifications that reverted to higher payments after five

Sonder raises $170M despite hospitality apocalypse

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 09:56 AM PDT

Hospitality startup Sonder has gone and raised $170 million, in the middle of an unprecedented hospitality downturn no less. The San Francisco-based company, which leases apartments and turns them into furnished short-term rentals, said it closed a Series E at a $1.3 billion valuation — up from its prior valuation of $1.1 billion. The round was led by Fidelity Funds, Westcap and Inovia Capital, with participation from Spark Capital, Greenoaks, Valor Equity, Greylock, Atreides Capital,

Brutal open-house attack fractures Virginia agent’s skull

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 08:45 AM PDT

A Virginia real estate agent is facing a long recovery after a vicious attack at an open house over the weekend sent her to the hospital for three days. Keller Williams agent Lenora Farrington was showing a home in Huddleston on Saturday when she was attacked by a man wielding a heavy, foot-long wrench, according to Inman. The assailant hit Huddleston over the head 10 times, according to Farrington’s friend Kathryn Bishop. Dustin Holdren was

Simon Property Group, Brookfield might bid on J.C. Penney

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 08:15 AM PDT

Two of J.C. Penney’s landlords are trying to buy their way out of trouble. Mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners are said to be considering a joint bid to buy the beleaguered department store chain, the Wall Street Journal reported. Talks were first reported last week, and at the time, brand management company Authentic Brands Group was involved. J.C. Penney filed for bankruptcy last month and experts say the landlords’ acquisition of

Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman forecasts “big V” recovery

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 07:30 AM PDT

Will the economy’s recovery from the pandemic resemble a U, V or W-shape? Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman is firmly in the V camp, according to his statements at Bloomberg Invest Global’s virtual event. “You’ll see a big V in terms of the economy going up for the next few months because it’s been closed,” he said, though he noted that the upward climb would take “quite a while” before it matched 2019 levels. His

McDonald’s closes Times Square flagship

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 07:00 AM PDT

It’s the end of an era. McDonald’s closed its Times Square flagship restaurant and is shifting focus to its more upscale — and contactless — new location at the Bow Tie Building at 1530 Broadway, the New York Post reported. The final Happy Meal on West 42nd Street was served Tuesday. The 17,500-square-foot restaurant operated for 17 years and is decorated like a Broadway theater with thousands of light bulbs adorning its marquee. It was

Here’s what won’t reopen in New York’s phase 4

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 06:45 AM PDT

Gyms, malls and movie theaters across New York state will remain closed beyond phase four reopening. The Cuomo administration made the announcement Tuesday night and is expected to lay out details today, Newsday reported. “There are some things that don’t fit neatly into a phase that are going to require further study and we’re going through that right now,” a spokesperson for Gov. Andrew Cuomo told the paper. “We’re not going to be like other

William Millichap of eponymous brokerage dies at 76

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 06:00 AM PDT

William Millichap, one of the founders of Marcus & Millichap, has died. The commercial brokerage said Millichap’s death followed a year-long battle with cancer, Commercial Observer reported. He was 76. The firm’s co-founder, George Marcus, called Millichap a “unique and exceptional leader, coach and innovator” in a statement. Together, they’d founded the brokerage in 1971 and would later form a proptech investment arm, Marcus & Millichap Venture Partners. Marcus credited his co-founder with helping to

TRD Insights: Here’s how much tenants pay for space at Blackstone’s massive industrial portfolio

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 05:35 AM PDT

When Blackstone Group shelled out $18.7 billion last year for 179 million square feet of industrial space, it was one of the largest real estate deals in history. So it’s not surprising that when Blackstone tapped the securitized debt market to finance a large chunk of that portfolio it acquired from Singapore’s GLP, it ended up being one of the largest single-borrower CMBS deals as well. The $5.6 billion mega-transaction, fittingly named BX 2019-XL, covered

Valentino expands in Dallas as it dumps NYC flagship

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 05:00 AM PDT

What does Dallas have that Fifth Avenue doesn’t? A Valentino, for one. While the Italian luxury brand tries to escape its prestigious post in New York, it is expanding its presence in Dallas. The ritzy retailer will add 690 square feet to its 2,505-square-foot boutique in Highland Park Village, a shopping center where it has had a presence since 2017. The Highland Park Village shopping center is also home to luxe standbys Chanel, Christian Louboutin

To “keep the village white,” Garden City quits consortium: critic

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 04:30 AM PDT

Garden City is taking its first opportunity to leave an affordable housing consortium of neighboring municipalities. Six years ago a federal judge ordered the village to join the Nassau County Urban Consortium following a 2005 housing discrimination lawsuit. That order expires in September. Garden City’s village board voted unanimously to leave the group that month, according to Newsday. The consortium seeks federal funds for affordable housing development and other projects. It includes the county’s two

Party’s over? Applications for homes loans fall

Posted: 24 Jun 2020 04:00 AM PDT

Homebuyers’ appetite waned last week after two months of growth. An index tracking mortgage applications to buy homes fell 3 percent, seasonally adjusted, after nine weeks of gains had pushed the metric to an 11-year high. The Mortgage Bankers Associated metric had been rising as prospective buyers readied for the end of pandemic lockdowns, but fell in the third week of June, according to the trade group’s weekly report. Joel Kan, MBA’s executive at the