The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

“We are erring on the side of having too much capacity”: Amazon reports massive Q3

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 04:20 PM PDT

How much capacity is too much? For Amazon, the limit doesn’t exist. At least not yet. The e-commerce giant — which has been adding warehouses at a dizzying clip across the nation — is on track to expand its fulfillment and transportation capacity by 50 percent, it said. The company has already spent $4.7 billion on property and equipment. The Jeff Bezos-led behemoth reported another massive quarter on Thursday. Third quarter net income grew to

CBRE income falls nearly 10%

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 04:10 PM PDT

CBRE’s income fell nearly 10 percent during the third quarter as the pandemic forced large office tenants to put their leasing decisions on hold. Income for the world’s largest real estate services firm fell 9.2 percent from July through September compared to the same time last year to $245 million, the company reported Wednesday. CEO Bob Sulentic said revenue was being pushed down as large corporate occupiers kicked the can down the road on major

Paramount Group back at work, but tenants waiting until 2021

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 03:53 PM PDT

Paramount Group didn’t see a major improvement in its earnings in the third quarter, but there was one major change from the office landlord’s second-quarter earnings call. “We are back in the office,” said CEO Albert Behler during a Thursday call for analysts, although he added that most of the firm’s tenants are taking a slower approach. Behler noted that the “vast majority” of Paramount’s tenants expect to return to the office in early 2021,

Zillow cuts 80 jobs from iBuying biz

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 02:30 PM PDT

Zillow has cut 80 jobs from its home buying and selling business, despite its big bet on the burgeoning sector. The real estate giant doesn’t disclose how many of its 5,300 employees work for Zillow Offers. But a spokesperson told GeekWire the cuts would allow the company to invest in iBuying by “realigning our resources and staffing levels.” iBuying has been one of the biggest trends in residential real estate in the past five years,

Two mortgage companies delay IPOs amid market volatility

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 02:15 PM PDT

Some mortgage companies are getting skittish about recent market volatility and have delayed plans to go public. Caliber Home Loans said it was delaying its IPO, which was originally set for Wednesday. AmeriHome is also planning to hold off on its IPO, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The two companies were scheduled to price their offerings on Wednesday after the market closed. Caliber planned to sell 23 million shares for $14 to

Essex Property’s tenant concessions help drive down Q3 earnings

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 02:10 PM PDT

Essex Property Trust, one of the largest apartment owners on the West Coast, reported double-digit declines in funds from operation in the third quarter, including a substantial amount that came from concessions the company provided to renters. The company has been one of the main financial supporters behind a campaign to defeat a California ballot measure that would seek to expand rent control. At its earnings call on Thursday, the San Mateo, California-based real estate

Empire State Realty Trust reports second consecutive quarterly loss

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 01:30 PM PDT

The Empire State Building’s observation deck reopened to the public three months ago, but that hasn’t been enough to help its owner stem its losses this year. Empire State Realty Trust reported a net loss of $12.3 million, down from $26.8 million in net income a year ago, the real estate investment trust reported during its quarterly earnings call Thursday. Its total revenue during the third quarter was $146.6 million, down by 24 percent year-over-year.

Kris Jenner and Khloe Kardashian buy mansions on land once owned by Woodbridge Group

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 01:15 PM PDT

Kris Jenner sold her Hidden Hills mansion earlier this year, but she isn’t leaving the area. The Kardashian family matriarch and her daughter Khloe Kardashian have each just purchased neighboring mansions in the tony San Fernando Valley neighborhood, according to Variety. At one point, the Ponzi scheme-linked development firm Woodbridge Group of Companies owned the property. It later sold the site to a developer who built the mansions, according to the report. Jenner’s and Kardashian’s

Business at city hotels down a stunning 90%

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 12:27 PM PDT

Of all the industries devastated by Covid, hotels have perhaps been hit the hardest — and far worse than occupancy rates would suggest. Sales tax from hotels from June through August were down 90 percent from the same time last year, according to an analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission. That represents a shortfall of $2.2 billion and was even worse than the previous quarter’s 88 percent drop. The occupancy rate at hotels in the

All Year nears $650M financing for Bushwick luxury rentals

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 11:24 AM PDT

UPDATED, Oct. 29 2020, 3:25 p.m.: All Year Management is closing in on a major financing deal for a luxury apartment complex built on the site of the former Rheingold Brewery in Bushwick. The Brooklyn development firm, led by Yoel Goldman, is negotiating $652 million in financing from Citi Real Estate Group and Goldman Sachs that will largely be used to refinance the 900-unit complex, known as Denizen Bushwick. All Year will use most of

City Council caps emissions at many rent-stabilized buildings

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 10:45 AM PDT

The exemption for rent-regulated buildings from the city’s emission caps is about to end for some of them. The City Council on Thursday voted in favor of a bill that subjects certain rent-regulated buildings to the requirements of Local Law 97, which imposes heavy fines on buildings that contribute too much to global warming. The year-old law aims to cut citywide greenhouse-gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050. The new measure,

WeWork eyes another IPO effort

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 10:00 AM PDT

Like many around the world, WeWork is looking to forget this year and pick up where it left off in 2019. The office-space company is going to revisit plans for an initial public offering in 2021, when it expects to turn a profit, Bloomberg News reported. “I’m a big believer in one step at a time so let’s hit profitable growth first, and we’ll then revisit the IPO plan,” company CEO Sandeep Mathrani told a

Shvo, Deutsche Finance close on Transamerica Pyramid for $650M

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 08:51 AM PDT

A group led by Michael Shvo’s eponymous firm and Deutsche Finance America has closed on the purchase of the Transamerica Pyramid, located in San Francisco’s Financial District, for $650 million, Bloomberg reported. In a joint statement Wednesday, the group described the 48-story skyscraper as “San Francisco’s most recognizable office tower and a fixture in the waterfront skyline for nearly 50 years.” Opened in 1972, the tower at 600 Montgomery Street has never been sold before.

Pending homes sales dipped in September

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 08:35 AM PDT

After four months of growth, the number of U.S. homes going into contract declined in September, indicating a slowdown in homebuyer demand. A National Association of Realtors index of pending home sales dropped 2.2 percent last month, compared to August. NAR’s index tracks signed contract activity for single-family homes, condo and co-op units, and is seen as an indicator of future sales of existing homes. Though September’s numbers represented a month-over-month dip, the index was

CBRE moving HQ from LA to Dallas

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 08:20 AM PDT

CBRE is trading in its Cali-cool shades for a pair of cowboy boots. The world’s biggest real estate services firm is moving its headquarters from Los Angeles to Dallas, the Dallas Morning News reported. Company CEO Robert Sulentic, who headed the Dallas-based developer Trammell Crow Co. when it was acquired by CBRE in 2006, already has an office in the Texas city and splits his time between there and L.A. The move is seen as

Amazon inks three warehouse deals for delivery stations

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 08:10 AM PDT

Amazon is continuing its expansion spree in New York with three new delivery stations. The e-commerce giant has inked deals for warehouses at 5 Warehouse Lane in Elmsford, in Westchester County; 2300 Linden Boulevard in Brooklyn; and 1502 Bassett Avenue in the Bronx. Those sites are scheduled to open in the first half of 2021 as delivery stations, at which workers sort packages transferred from Amazon fulfilment centers, according to Amazon. Emily Hawkins, an Amazon

Simon and Brookfield finalize terms of J.C. Penney buy

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 07:21 AM PDT

Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management have finalized the terms of their acquisition of J.C. Penney. The companies announced Wednesday that they have entered into an asset purchase agreement, which will bring the struggling department store chain out of bankruptcy. “Signing a definitive APA with Brookfield, Simon and our Majority First Lien Lenders allows us to move forward towards the completion of our financial restructuring,” Jill Soltau, CEO of J.C. Penney, said in a

Realogy profit surges to $98M as sales rebound

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 07:12 AM PDT

Citing explosive growth in the housing market, Realogy’s profit surged during the third quarter and the brokerage giant said it would add to its bet on iBuying. Realogy said sales volume for the quarter rose 28 percent year-over-year, with September sales up 50 percent. “The volume improved each month during the quarter,” CEO Ryan Schneider said during an earnings call. Through Oct. 29, sales were up 35 percent from a year ago. Overall, Realogy’s revenue

Return to the office? Manhattan workers say no thanks

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 06:53 AM PDT

Getting people back to the office might be a tougher sell than some employers thought. Only 10 percent of workers had returned to Manhattan offices as of late October, according to a survey from Partnership for New York City. That is up from 8 percent in August. While it was projected then that 26 percent of employees would return to the office by the end of the year, that estimate has now been lowered to

Battered IHOP could close up to 100 restaurants

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 05:35 AM PDT

In these times, even pancakes can’t cheer us up. The parent company of IHOP restaurants said sales fell 18.7 percent in the third quarter, triggering a review of underperforming locations. As many as 100 might be closed. “We’re evaluating only greatly underperforming restaurants that we currently believe are not viable coming out of the pandemic,” IHOP’s president, Jay Johns, said on an earnings call. The company, Dine Brands Global, also plans to close about 15

Move over, artists: Soho rezoning blueprint calls for more apartments, legal retail

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 05:00 AM PDT

After receiving the blessing of Mayor Bill de Blasio to change outdated zoning restrictions in Soho, the Department of City Planning has laid out its blueprint for the neighborhood. The proposed rezoning would affect 56 blocks across Soho and Noho, where the city plans to do away with restrictions that permit only light manufacturing use on ground floors, despite the current proliferation of street-level retail in the area. It would pave the way for residential

How tough is Freddie when it comes to protecting landlords and tenants?

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 04:30 AM PDT

UPDATED, Oct. 21, 2020, 5:00 p.m.: Tenant protections at apartment buildings with federally backed mortgages didn’t stop landlords in Houston from trying to evict renters between March and July, when an agency-imposed ban was in place. In a July earnings call, Freddie Mac touted its eviction moratorium at properties with loans backed by the quasi-government agency. Nevertheless, dozens of landlords in the sprawling Gulf Coast port city filed nearly 6,000 evictions during that period, data

Foreclosure filings ramp up, especially in minority neighborhoods

Posted: 29 Oct 2020 04:00 AM PDT

Farrah Lafontant hesitates to call herself a landlord. At least, she said, not a “corporate landlord.” Growing up in Brooklyn, she had heard East New York was one of those neighborhoods you avoid. But upon working there, she grew to appreciate the tight-knit community and later purchased a two-family home on a $36,000 salary through a now-defunct city program. The $1,300 a month from her rental unit made it possible. Within a few years, however,