The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Michael Shvo’s proposed Miami Beach tower gets haircut and approval

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 03:00 PM PDT

The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board approved developer Michael Shvo’s plans to add a residential tower behind the landmark Raleigh Hotel. But that tower won’t be 200 feet tall, as Shvo had proposed. Instead, following community outcry and a passionate plea from board chairman Jack Finglass during a meeting on Tuesday, the board shortened the residential addition to 175 feet. Although the tower will be 25 feet shorter than what he had sought, Shvo, chairman

Retail rent payments inch back toward normal in August

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 02:30 PM PDT

Retail landlords can celebrate as rent collections are slowly but surely returning to normal levels after months of lackluster payments. Major chains paid 83 percent of August rent, a new record, and only 14 percent below the nearly 97 percent that they paid during the same time last year, according to the most recent report by Datex Property Solutions. That’s a slight increase from last month’s 80 percent. Mom and pop shops are similarly increasing,

Mystery buyer closes on 220 Central Park South pad for $62M

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 02:00 PM PDT

After another lofty closing at 220 Central Park South, developer Vornado Realty Trust has just 30 condos left to sell at the luxury tower. The sale of unit 72, the fourth-highest condo in the tower portion of the trophy property, closed on Friday for $62 million, according to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New York Properties. The brokerage’s JoAnne Kao represented the unknown buyer. The sale of the 5,935-square-foot residence pencils out to $10,446 per foot. In

Real estate events you can’t miss this September

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 01:15 PM PDT

With so many of the year’s biggest gatherings delayed or cancelled altogether, The Real Deal has compiled a list of some of the top real estate events you can count on this month. Sept. 9: TRD Talks Live on the Future of Queens Manhattan sales may be falling, but Queens real estate is pretty hot — long-lost Amazon HQ bid notwithstanding. TRD Senior Managing Editor Erik Enquist will be speaking with Modern Space’s CEO and

Wall Street calls BS on apartment landlords’ rosy projections

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 12:45 PM PDT

Many apartment landlords across the U.S. maintain that tenants are paying rent, that occupancy remains high and all is going well. Understandably, investors are skeptical, according to the Wall Street Journal. The FTSE Nareit Equity Apartments index, which follows publicly traded apartment owners, has fallen by more than 21 percent this year. Some multifamily owners have been claiming that up to 90 percent of their tenants are paying rent, the Journal reported. But asking rents

NYC developers face downgrades on Israeli bond market

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 12:15 PM PDT

Rating agencies in Israel are reassessing the creditworthiness of New York-based real estate developers trading on the country’s bond market, as the economic impact of coronavirus continues to unfold. The latest company to face a ratings drop was Yoel Goldman’s All Year Management, whose four bond series all saw two-step downgrades from rating agency Midroog, according to a Sunday filing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The firm’s unsecured Series B and D bonds were

Scott Stringer takes aim at real estate in unveiling mayoral bid

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 11:45 AM PDT

City Comptroller Scott Stringer officially launched his mayoral campaign Tuesday, bashing developers and showing off endorsements from some of the state’s top progressive officials. Gathered outside Inwood Hill Park near his childhood home, Stringer pledged to “end the crushing cycle of speculation, eviction and displacement.” He billed himself as the progessive in the race, a claim evidenced by the politicians on hand for the announcement. They included several senators who have made the state legislature

SL Green gets $600M construction loan for 410 Tenth Avenue

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 11:15 AM PDT

SL Green Realty is replacing one big construction loan with another at its Far West Side office redevelopment. The real estate investment trust recently closed on a $600 million construction loan for its office project at 410 Tenth Avenue, the company announced Tuesday. Amazon and First Republic Bank have signed leases to anchor the 20-story property. The new financing was provided by a group of domestic and international banks led by Goldman Sachs and Wells

West Village condo has the week’s priciest two resi deals

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 10:45 AM PDT

In Manhattan’s fickle luxury market, one big contract is an achievement. Two in one week at the same building, these days, is almost unheard of. But a condominium at 90 Morton Street has defied the odds, recording the two most expensive deals last week, according to the latest market report from Olshan Realty. The number-one deal was a duplex penthouse on the building’s 11th and 12th floors, asking $33 million. It originally went into contract

NY AG sues Trump for favoring projects over environment

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 08:15 AM PDT

Two dozen states are trying to stop the Trump administration from allowing certain infrastructure projects to bypass the environmental review process. Attorneys general from the 24 states, including New York’s Letitia James, filed a lawsuit that challenges the Trump administration’s changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, the Brooklyn Eagle reported. “By restricting the types of projects that undergo environmental review prior to their construction, it puts both our communities and our environment in harm’s

Mortgage refinancings hit record high in Q2

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 07:35 AM PDT

Mortgage refinancings have hit a record high, as the U.S. housing market continues to rebound from the initial shock of the coronavirus. With interest rates at all-time lows, refinancings jumped more than 200 percent in the second quarter compared to a year ago, according to the Wall Street Journal. Lenders provided more than $1 trillion in home loans — including both originations and refinancings — between April and June, the Journal reported, citing mortgage data

TikTok, Clarice: Why the government’s moves against Chinese firms could hurt real estate

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 07:00 AM PDT

Daniel Chang’s phone wouldn’t stop lighting up. It was the night of Aug. 6, shortly after President Trump signed an executive order banning the ubiquitous Chinese social media platform WeChat. Chang, a prominent broker at Sotheby’s International Realty, said his longtime Chinese clients rushed to swap phone numbers and email addresses, worried they would lose contact. “A lot of people cannot fanqiang using a VPN,” he said, using the term for scaling the “Great Firewall”

“Worst place on earth” may be buried underground

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 06:45 AM PDT

The “worst place on earth” may be buried under the earth. The Port Authority is considering three plans for updating the Eighth Avenue bus terminal, which include tacking on an office component or moving the facility into the Javits Convention Center, according to the New York Post. Construction giant AECOM partnered with architecture firm STV on a proposal to bury the terminal underground, rename it Hudson Terminal Market, and add stores, cafes and connections to

Here’s where NYC real estate stands post Labor Day

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 06:05 AM PDT

Back to school still a question mark The New York City school system, the nation’s largest, is officially back in action on Sept. 21. Nearly 40 percent of parents, however, have chosen to have their children learn remotely for the first few months of the school year, the New York Times reported. Families opting for remote learning tend to be more prosperous, and so their decision to stay out of school — and perhaps remain

What tenants are paying at Vornado’s theMART in Chicago

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 05:15 AM PDT

When Chicago’s Merchandise Mart opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world. Though it no longer holds that title, the sprawling trophy property on the north bank of the Chicago River remains one of the city’s most iconic buildings. It’s also one of two major office properties that New York City-based Vornado Realty Trust owns outside of the five boroughs. (The other one, 555 California Street in San Francisco, is now up

Build, baby, build: Poll finds New Yorkers want to allow more housing

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 04:30 AM PDT

Most New Yorkers support changing the city’s land-use policies to encourage housing construction, according to a new poll. The survey, conducted by free-market think tank the Manhattan Institute, found that 59 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat support “loosening the city’s land-use regulations in order to allow the building of more housing,” while 24 percent oppose the idea. The poll of 1,485 New Yorkers was conducted in July. Support for facilitating housing development was strong

Developers bet big on build-for-rent in these uncertain times

Posted: 08 Sep 2020 04:00 AM PDT

Since moving from an apartment building in Allen, Texas to a two-bedroom house in nearby McKinney in April, Joy Fleming has been on the receiving end of developers stopping by and asking her whether she likes where she lives. Fleming — a resident living in a community of 180 Avilla Homes built by NexMetro Communities — can now park in front of her house. She has a backyard for her dog to run around in,