The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Better.com’s latest funding round brings valuation to $4B

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 03:15 PM PST

Better.com, a digital mortgage startup, has raised $200 million at a $4 billion valuation. The Series D was led by private equity firm L Catterton and brings Better.com’s total funding to $410 million, according to Bloomberg News. Activant Capital, Ally Financial, American Express Ventures, Ping An and 9Yards Capital also participated in the latest funding round. The New York-based company launched in 2016 with the goal of streamlining the mortgage origination process by pre-approving borrowers

Foreclosure filings picked up in October up despite moratoriums

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 01:30 PM PST

Despite federal and state moratoriums, foreclosure activity in the United States ballooned last month. Nearly 12,000 properties had some kind of foreclosure filing in October 2020, up 20 percent from last month but down 79 percent from October 2019, according to a monthly report from Attom Data. That largely continued a trend of growing foreclosures that began the month before, when many states ended relief measures that had protected homeowners hurt by the pandemic. “It’s

National Association of Realtors cracks down on hate speech

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 12:45 PM PST

It’s no secret that the path to homeownership can involve discrimination towards prospective buyers. After a marked rise in racist and homophobic slurs and threats by its members on their personal social media accounts, the National Association of Realtors is taking a stand against hate speech in the industry. The group’s board of directors will vote Friday to amend its code of ethics. The aim is to broaden the scope of the code to include

Ellen DeGeneres flips Montecito estate for $33M

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 12:00 PM PST

It didn’t take long for Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi to find a buyer for their Bali-inspired compound in Montecito, which the couple listed last month after snagging last year. DeGeneres and de Rossi, who listed the 10,700-square-foot home for $40 million, just sold it for $33.3 million, according to the Los Angeles Times. While that represents a discount from the asking price, it’s also $6 million more than what they paid for the

Here’s where real estate leaders put their money in 2020 election cycle

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 11:30 AM PST

The presidential election captured the most attention but it was just one of the races that top real estate brokers, developers and industry executives contributed their money to during the 2020 election cycle. Las Vegas Sands Corp. CEO Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam contributed more than $54 million to Republican leaning or conservative committees during the election season this year, by far the most of any real estate player. Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman

Big landlords raise rents in suburbs as demand surges

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 10:45 AM PST

Even though many Americans are still struggling with unemployment and the threat of eviction, large owners of single-family homes are raising rents at their fastest level since the great financial crisis. Asking rents for available properties owned by corporate home-rental firms rose 7.5 percent in October, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing figures from Green Street, a real estate analytics firm. This marked the fifth straight month of year-over-year increases and the biggest since 2014.

Serhant hires first cohort of agents, executives

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 10:10 AM PST

Ryan Serhant has made his first round of hires at his new brokerage, snagging talent from Douglas Elliman, Compass, the Corcoran Group and Modern Spaces. Among the new hires are Chase Landow, a former Serhant Team alum who moved to Noble Black’s team at Elliman last year; Corcoran’s Scott Francis; and Kayla Lee, a Long Island City-based broker from Modern Spaces, Serhant confirmed. The celebrity broker also brought on Natalie Vitebsky, Elliman’s former vice president

Investcorp sells nearly $1B in multifamily assets

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 09:35 AM PST

The private equity firm Investcorp has sold eight multifamily properties across the U.S. for $900 million. Investcorp said it sold the properties to multiple buyers, though it did not disclose specifically who those were. The buildings are located in four states — Arizona, California, Florida and New York — and were acquired by the company in 2016 and 2017, according to a release from the company. They’re described as “garden and townhome-style apartment buildings,” which

NYC movie theaters to Cuomo: Let us reopen

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 09:00 AM PST

New York City’s movie theaters are fighting to keep the lights on. NATO of New York State, a trade group representing theater owners, sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in an effort to urge the administration to greenlight the openings of cinemas in the city as the holiday season approaches, Deadline reported. It’s been over two weeks since movie theaters were allowed to reopen in the rest of the state, but the five boroughs

Office unease: Tenants are paying up but staying away

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 08:30 AM PST

A pattern has emerged among office landlords reporting their third quarter results: The vast majority of tenants kept up with rent payments, but an equal number also kept their workers away. Investment firm and REIT executives reported strong rent collections across much of their office portfolios, a positive sign for their immediate bottom line. At many of their earnings calls over the past two weeks, CEOs emphasized their efforts to create a safe environment for

Virtual brokerage eXp notches most profitable quarter ever

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 08:00 AM PST

eXp Realty’s profits soared during the third quarter thanks to the booming housing market and the firm’s virtual operations. Parent company eXp World Holdings said sales more than doubled during the third quarter to $23.6 million, compared to $11.1 billion in the third quarter of 2019. The company’s net income hit a record $14.9 million, compared to a loss of $1.8 million during the same period last year. “Despite the unprecedented in-person business restrictions related

J.C. Penney bankruptcy plan approved by judge

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 07:35 AM PST

A U.S judge has approved a deal to allow J.C. Penney to emerge from bankruptcy, preventing a massive liquidation of the retailer’s stores. A federal bankruptcy judge in Texas approved the deal on Monday, Reuters reported. As part of the deal, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management will acquire the struggling retailer for about $1.75 billion in cash and debt. The deal will allow a group of lenders led by H/2 Capital Partners to

Boies Schiller seeks to shed Hudson Yards office space

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 07:00 AM PST

A little over a year and a half after moving into its new office at Hudson Yards, Boies Schiller Flexner may scale down its presence at the megaproject. The law firm spent millions of dollars moving from its previous HQ at 575 Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan to a new tri-level space at 55 Hudson Yards. But now, amid a larger restructuring, the firm is looking to change its plan and possibly sublease the space,

This election isn’t over: Real estate hanging on NY vote count

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 06:45 AM PST

“The voters have spoken,” Republican Mike Martucci said, declaring victory in one of the New York state Senate races that real estate players are watching closely. Martucci’s claim, like President Donald Trump’s last weekend, was premature. Although New York’s voters have spoken, we don’t yet know what many of them said. While the nation was gripped by the counting of mail-in ballots that clinched the presidency Saturday for Joe Biden, more than 1 million sat

South Florida office landlords are offering sweeteners to lure tenants amid the pandemic

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 06:30 AM PST

As the date approached to renew their office lease in Coral Gables, Javier Lopez and his partners at the Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton law firm contemplated negotiating tactics. To improve the office ambiance and make employees feel welcome when they return from remote working, Lopez envisioned new furniture, more offices rather than cubicles, a small gym with showers for employees, and studio space outfitted for Zoom calls with clients and judges. With help from the

Simon Property Group’s earnings plummet below last quarter

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 05:40 AM PST

The country’s leading mall owner continues to struggle amid a pandemic that has decimated foot traffic and plunged many retailers into bankruptcy. In the third quarter, Simon Property Group saw its net income plummet to just $145.9 million, the retail REIT reported on a Monday earnings call. That’s well below the $544.3 million it made during the same time last year, and even under the $254.2 million it accrued last quarter. That’s due, in part,

East Williamsburg warehouse fetches $28M

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 05:00 AM PST

The industrial market is one of the few sectors to see activity jump in recent months. In the third quarter, industrial tenants signed on for 1.6 million square feet of space across New York City, a 71 percent year-over-year jump. So for those who own warehouse and logistics facilities in the five boroughs, now may seem like a good time to transact. Last week, a warehouse in East Williamsburg sold for $28 million — one

Here’s what tenants are paying at Vornado & Oxford’s 650 Madison

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 04:30 AM PST

When furniture & houseware retailer Crate & Barrel decided in 2015 to close its Manhattan flagship at 650 Madison Avenue after two decades at the location, it pointed to rising rents in the neighborhood as the main reason. The 62,000-square-foot retail vacancy gave the landlords — a joint venture co-controlled by Vornado Realty Trust and Oxford Properties — an opportunity to bring in pricier luxury tenants such as leather goods maker Celine and skiwear brand

New York’s Covid-fueled retail apocalypse hits condo and co-op owners

Posted: 10 Nov 2020 04:00 AM PST

As luxury stores remain shuttered, the pandemic and economic fallout are sparking a rift among owners of residential and retail property in one of the country’s top real estate markets. For many condominium and co-op buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, adding spaces for retail tenants was good business. But as one of the toughest years in decades comes to a close, many of the cafes, gyms and shops in those spaces are struggling to