The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Former HFZ principal Nir Meir faces ejection from Hamptons home

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 03:30 PM PST

Just weeks after Nir Meir left HFZ Capital Group, he is facing the prospect of getting booted from his Southampton home. The LLC that owns the property at 40 Meadow Lane filed a complaint in Suffolk County Supreme Court Tuesday alleging that Meir is living there without the owner’s consent. A source familiar with the matter said HFZ had owned the property but later transferred the LLC to one of its lenders, an affiliate of

RentPath calls off CoStar acquisition after FTC lawsuit

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 02:22 PM PST

CoStar Group will no longer be acquiring RentPath Holdings, thanks to the FTC. RentPath announced today that it terminated its agreement with CoStar, TechCrunch reported. In February, the two companies agreed to a deal in which CoStar would pay $588 million for the troubled listings platform. But in November, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to block the deal, citing antitrust laws. The merger would have given CoStar a significant advantage over its competitors in

Pending home sales decline for third straight month

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 01:03 PM PST

A measure of pending home sales declined for the third consecutive month, as prices rise and inventory shrinks. The National Association of Realtors’ pending home sales index declined 2.6 percent in November from the previous month. That represents a much steeper decline than October’s, when pending home sales ticked down 1.1 percent from the previous month. The monthly index tracks contract signings and closings for existing single-family homes, condos and co-ops. Closings usually occur within

Private equity exec picks up $9M condo at Trump World Tower

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 11:42 AM PST

Steven Maksin, CEO of Moonbeam Capital, purchased a condo at Trump World Tower for $9 million. Maksin purchased unit 81 BC at 845 United Nations Plaza with his wife, Natalie Maksin, according to a deed transfer recorded with the city on Dec. 28. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The last time the unit traded hands was in 2001, when the Trump Organization completed the Midtown East tower. Public records do

Waterfront Miami Beach mansion linked to Elizabeth Taylor sells for $20M

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 10:50 AM PST

The waterfront Miami Beach mansion that the late Elizabeth Taylor called home in the 1940s sold for nearly $20 million. Property records show 2555 Lake Avenue Home LLC sold the Sunset Islands home to WWWT LLC, a Delaware entity. The seller is managed by Kaloyan Stoyanov of Geneva. The Stoyanov-led entity paid $15.5 million for the 0.8-acre property in 2013, and listed it for sale in 2017 for $19.9 million. Dora Puig of Luxe Living

Flea sells Malibu estate for $20M

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 10:00 AM PST

Malibu is having a moment. The picturesque — and pricey — oceanfront locale has been a hive of activity for celebrity homebuyers and sellers in the last few weeks. In the latest deal, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea sold his compound in the Encinal Bluffs neighborhood for $20 million in an all-cash, off-market transaction, the Los Angeles Times reported. Flea — real name Michael Balzary — bought the 2.1-acre clifftop estate in 2006 for

South Florida’s biggest real estate stories of 2020

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 09:15 AM PST

With far fewer tourists and far more remote work, it’s no surprise that South Florida hotels, offices, retailers and restaurants were among the hardest-hit sectors in 2020. But there were bright spots in the South Florida real estate market this year — because of and not despite the pandemic. Demand remained strong for industrial properties due to the surge in e-commerce, and wealthy out-of-state buyers scooped up multimillion-dollar waterfront homes for some very pricey privacy.

From industrial windfalls to office market freefalls: Chicago’s biggest real estate stories of 2020

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 07:45 AM PST

Let’s start with a bit of good news — given that 2020 didn’t provide Chicago’s real estate market with much of it. The industrial sector withstood a bruising year far better than most others, sustained in large part by Amazon. As e-commerce orders soared during the pandemic, the Jeff Bezos behemoth went on a warehouse-leasing binge in Chicago. But other asset classes in the city have spent the last nine-plus months on a skyscraper elevator

Pocket listing service is back with a new website

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 07:20 AM PST

The PLS, formerly a private listing network for real estate agents, will relaunch Jan. 19 as a public-facing site. The site will be a competitor to third-party listing sites such as Zillow and Realtor.com. On the new site, both agents and members of the public will be able to search “PLS only” listings that automatically convert to just active PLS listings after one business day, according to Inman. In May, ThePLS.com filed a federal antitrust

Minimum wage to be raised in half of US states in 2021

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 06:31 AM PST

After a challenging year for retailers and restaurants, many will have to up their workers’ pay in 2021. Next year, half of U.S. states will raise their minimum wage, up from 21 states in 2020. Twenty of them — all but Connecticut, Florida, Nevada, Oregon and Virginia — will hike their hourly minimum on Friday, according to CNBC. President-elect Joe Biden has proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and eliminating the

Howard Rubenstein, press agent who repped stars and real estate elite, dies at 88

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 05:55 AM PST

Howard Rubenstein, a legendary figure in public relations who represented the power players of New York, died Tuesday in his Manhattan home. He was 88. His lengthy list of clients included real estate firms, celebrities, politicians, corporations and cultural institutions. Among them were Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch, the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, Columbia University, the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic, according to the New York Times. “I will remember him for his

NYC’s 10 most valuable office leases of 2020

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 05:00 AM PST

The pandemic has drastically slowed Manhattan leasing since March, curbing not only the number of deals, but also their dollar value. The Real Deal ranked Manhattan office leases signed in 2020 by the amount of rent scheduled to be paid over the life of the deal. The sum of the top 10 was $3.12 billion, down about 60 percent from the 2019 sum, $7.85 billion. The drop was reflected in the lack of mega deals.

Tales from the industrial boom

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 04:30 AM PST

A former Miami golf course turned into an industrial park. A Hollywood warehouse chopped up into six smaller offerings. And a bidding war over industrial space in East Hialeah. Commercial brokers recount these tales in South Florida, a market with high demand for warehouses but not enough industrial-zoned land for new development. Industrial experts must turn to creative problem-solving, as a reluctance to visit brick-and-mortar stores has led to a boom in online shopping and

Here are Brooklyn’s top retail leases of 2020

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 04:00 AM PST

With Manhattan in dismay, Brooklyn came to play. With more people staying home in the outer boroughs this year, retailers came to them, signing leases for some major square footage. But half of the year’s largest leases were signed in January and February, before the impact of the pandemic became clear. The deals varied greatly. Some were your traditional clothing store or gym, while others consisted of night clubs and even schools. Educational users accounted