The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Ex-City Planning officials criticize “hollow” hotel permits proposal

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 02:50 PM PST

Some former city planning officials aren’t keen on a plan to restrict hotel construction throughout the city. During a hearing on Friday, ex-officials from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration criticized the city’s proposal to require special permits for all new hotel construction. They argued that there isn’t a clear land use rationale for the proposal, and that it would harm not just the hospitality industry, but businesses that rely on tourism. David Karnovsky, a partner

Bank OZK’s Q4 was “strong end to challenging year”

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 02:31 PM PST

One of the nation’s most active construction lenders ended 2020 on a high note following an overall miserable year for the real estate industry. Bank OZK reported net income of $120.5 million in the fourth quarter, a 19.5 percent increase from the $100.8 million a year ago, marking its second highest quarterly profit in company history. The Arkansas-based bank also reported another quarter of almost no write-downs on its real estate loans. It deferred a

Investment sales fell by half in December to finish year down 48%

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 02:17 PM PST

For investment sales in the city, a down year finished on a down note. Sales volume in December was off 51 percent from a year ago, to $2 billion, even as transactions fell by a more modest 7 percent, according to a new report from the Real Estate Board of New York. For the year, dollar volume plunged 48 percent, to $21.4 billion, and transaction volume slid 20 percent, to 2,579 deals. Residential sales fared

Civic boosterism gets big backing from real estate

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 02:06 PM PST

Two PR vets with deep ties to the real estate industry are trying to change the narrative that New York is dead — and they’ve tapped their industry contacts to help bolster the case. Risa Heller and Jonathan Rosen this week launched nonprofit NY Forever with a social media campaign featuring a video of notable New Yorkers — including comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Ilana Glazer, Barneys creative ambassador Simon Doonan and Nom Wah Tea Parlor

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel revealed as buyer of Miami Beach mansions

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 01:10 PM PST

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel was revealed as the buyer of two waterfront adjacent Miami Beach mansions that sold in September for $18 million. Thiel, the German-American billionaire entrepreneur and venture capitalist, acquired Jacques Nasser’s double-home at 445 to 441 East Rivo Alto Drive on the Venetian Islands. Business Insider first reported the buyer’s identity, which a source confirmed to The Real Deal. Thiel is a co-founder of San Francisco-based venture capital firm Founders Fund, which

NMHC chair David Schwartz on rent control fights and multifamily’s mission

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 12:15 PM PST

Homes aren’t just homes anymore. During Covid, they’ve become offices, schools, gyms, places of worship and date spots, combining shelter, work and social fulfillment in a way that hasn’t been seen in decades. So if owning hundreds of apartments was an emotional and political minefield prior to the pandemic, you can imagine what David Schwartz is dealing with now. Schwartz is the chair of the National Multifamily Housing Council, the most influential national trade group

Big golf, resi project in East Quogue approved

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 11:45 AM PST

To the dismay but not the surprise of environmentalists, a controversial golf course and residential project in East Quogue was approved by a key panel this week. The Central Pine Barrens Commission signed off on the development, Newsday reported. Developers plan 118 homes, 18 holes and other recreational facilities on 35 percent of a 588-acre site. The rest of the land, which is in the Central Pine Barrens Overlay District and an aquifer protection area,

Americans bought 5.6M homes last year — the most since the bubble

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 11:30 AM PST

Despite the global pandemic, or perhaps because of it, home sales clocked their best year since 2006. The annual pace of existing home sales in December increased to 6.76 million, seasonally adjusted, up 0.7 percent from November and 22 percent year-over-year, according to the National Association of Realtors’ monthly report. It was a strong finish to a year that saw 5.64 million existing homes change hands, up 5.6 percent from 2019 to the highest level

Beny Steinmetz found guilty of corruption

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 10:35 AM PST

A Geneva court has found Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz guilty of corruption. Steinmetz, who is reported to be a silent backer of New York real estate, was sentenced to five years in jail for paying bribes to a Guinean public official in order to secure rights to an iron-ore mine. The official, Mamadie Toure, is the wife of Guinea’s late former president, Lansana Conté. Steinmetz’s lawyer denied the tycoon had been involved in any payment,

Freshly inks big lease in NoMad

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 10:15 AM PST

Meal-delivery company Freshly will be more than quadrupling its office footprint after relocating to north of Madison Square Park. Freshly has signed a 92,306-square-foot lease at 28 East 28th Street, according to a release from the landlord. It will occupy the 12th and 13th floors of the building, which is owned by George Comfort & Sons, Jamestown Properties and Loeb Partners Real Estate. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but sources said Freshly’s lease

Former deputy mayor Randy Mastro, lawyer in Lucerne controversy, lists UES home

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 09:45 AM PST

UPDATE, Jan. 22, 6:05 p.m.: A lawyer who defended relocating homeless men on the Upper West Side is himself relocating. Attorney Randy Mastro, who once served as chief of staff and deputy mayor to Rudy Giuliani and is now a partner at Gibson Dunn, is selling his townhouse at 21 East 83rd Street for $18 million. Mastro was tapped last year to represent a group of Upper West Side residents who opposed the placement of

Weighing in at $130M: Sly Stallone lists massive mansion

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 09:20 AM PST

Sylvester Stallone is looking for a blockbuster in Beverly Park. The “Rocky” and “Rambo” actor has listed his 21,000-square-foot mansion for $130 million, according to the website Dirt. Revel Real Estate founder Ben Bacal announced the news on Instagram. Stallone bought the 3.5-acre property in the late 1990s and built the sprawling home in a Mediterranean-style. The annual property taxes on the eight-bedroom, 12-bathroom estate reportedly total $125,000. The listing wasn’t on Redfin or Zillow

How builders are changing America’s suburbs to fit the times

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 08:00 AM PST

Donald Trump vowed to protect the suburbs from low-income housing, but more Americans in poverty live in the suburbs than in urban areas, note authors June Williamson and Ellen Dunham-Jones. Their new book challenges popular notions about who lives in the suburbs and offers ideas for reshaping them, Vice reported. In “Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Strategies for Urgent Challenges,” the authors document 32 examples of redesigning the suburbs to respond to their

How a Red Hook developer circumvented the City Council

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 06:30 AM PST

Developers can’t go through Carlos Menchaca, but they can go around him. The Brooklyn City Council member last year killed a major rezoning in his district and tried to stop one in someone else’s. Now, a builder is steering a $200 million Red Hook project to an agency where Menchaca has no vote. The proposal for 145 Wolcott Street includes 210 apartments — 61 of them affordable — in a manufacturing zone, so it needs

Vicious cycle creates “huge supply crunch,” pushing home prices up

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 06:10 AM PST

Homeowners aren’t budging, and it’s driving the supply of houses down — and existing-home prices up. One in four homeowners has not moved in 20 years, the Wall Street Journal reported. The analysis, conducted by real estate brokerage Redfin, found that homeowner tenure has been climbing steadily since 2005, when only 8.6 percent of homeowners had been in their homes for 20 years. Home sales in 2020 swelled to their highest level in 14 years

How to sell a mansion for $350M? Use Google Forms

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 05:30 AM PST

While initially insisting that his Bel Air megamansion would be for “normal dudes,” Nile Niami is now going the elitist route. “This is not an opportunity for just anyone,” Niami’s Google Forms document for the palatial pad, dubbed “The One,” states. The form, first reported by the New York Post, asks prospective buyers to submit both proof of funds and the name of the influencer who told them about the property. In December, The Real

Former SL Green exec Isaac Zion joins Acram Group

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 05:00 AM PST

A former SL Green exec is making moves. Isaac Zion, who had served as co-CIO for the real estate investment trust, has joined Acram Group, a New York City-based real estate firm formerly known as JMC Holdings. He’ll join Acram’s two executives — JMC founder and managing partner J. Matthew Cassin and partner David Taylor — as a managing principal at the firm. Zion left SL Green in July as the REIT was bracing for

Inside mall owner Namdar’s rapid growth story

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 04:30 AM PST

At the Regency Square Mall in Jacksonville, Florida, roaches roam freely, the air conditioning is broken and the roof leaks, according to a series of lawsuits filed over the past four years. But the mall’s owner, Namdar Realty Group, did not disclose any of that to its tenants, a handful of retailers alleged. When the issue was raised, Namdar painted over the water stains and the problem got worse as mold grew and another leak

Chera family goes SPAC shopping

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 04:00 AM PST

One of New York’s biggest retail owners is going shopping — with a blank check. The Chera family’s Crown Acquisitions is raising $200 million for a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that is focused on proptech, according to a regulatory filing. Crown PropTech Acquisitions will look to acquire a startup with “innovative software, hardware, products, operations or services that are technology-driven and enhance the value of the infrastructure or property ownership,” the filing said.