The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Manhattan job losses in Q3 worst of any large county in the US

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 03:45 PM PST

The average wage that workers earned in the third quarter of 2020 rose 7.4 percent from the previous year — a troubling sign for low-wage earners, and the job market as a whole. According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people employed dipped by nearly 7 percent year-over-year, hitting 138.5 million at the end of the third quarter. Employment decreased in 355 of the 357 counties the report

Powell sees new opportunity to reform low-income lending rule

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 03:05 PM PST

In September, an effort to update a rule encouraging lending in low-income communities turned into a faceoff among three major banking regulators with oversight on the matter. The Federal Reserve’s proposed overhaul of the Community Reinvestment Act called on banks to provide more loans to individuals in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. That bumped up against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — whose agency head was appointed by then-President Trump — which wanted

Year from Hell: 80% of Brooklyn businesses saw revenue drop

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 03:00 PM PST

Brooklyn businesses, like many others across the city, had a rough year. Eighty percent of all businesses saw revenue decline in 2020 from the year before, and 47% of those lost more than half of their revenue, according to a survey by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. “The end-of-year survey results confirm what we had been tracking all along in 2020,” Randy Peers, president and CEO of the chamber, said in a statement. “Small business

Status of NY’s commercial eviction ban is unknown

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 02:37 PM PST

After Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued another executive order, the status of the ban on commercial evictions and foreclosures is unclear. On Monday, Cuomo issued an order that some real estate attorneys, who declined to be named because they said they did not want to publicly contradict the governor, believe extended the state’s existing ban. A spokesperson for Cuomo said he did “not believe” the executive order extended the ban, but did not clarify whether that

Gannett to move its NYC office two blocks north

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 02:00 PM PST

Gannett has inked a sublease for the entire 23rd floor at Rudin Management’s 1675 Broadway. The owner of USA Today and other local news publications will move into the 24,200-square-foot office in March, according to CBRE’s Gregg Rothkin, who represented the sublandlord in the deal. It will vacate its current New York City location at 1633 Broadway. The asking rent for the 10-year deal was mid-$60s per square foot per year. CBRE declined to disclose

Zillow taps Susan Daimler as president

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 01:30 PM PST

Susan Daimler, a longtime general manager at StreetEasy, has been tapped as president of Zillow Group. The Seattle-based listing giant, which has been focused heavily on instant home-buying, said Daimler will succeed Jeremy Wacksman, who was named the company’s chief operating officer. Zillow characterized the executive moves as an “organizational alignment” to centralize the company’s product, engineering and operations teams. In her new role, Daimler will lead an integrated product team. Zillow said she will

Midtown landlord sues to stop foreclosure by Maverick

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 12:45 PM PST

The owner of two Midtown office buildings claims its bank threw it to the wolves after promising to help it weather the pandemic. R&B Realty Group told a state court in Manhattan last week that Signature Bank did not honor a verbal pledge to extend forbearances on 28 West 36th Street and 32 West 39th Street, instead declaring loans on those buildings in default and selling the debt to distressed-asset buyers. The landlord alleges that

Where mayoral candidates stand on real estate

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 12:00 PM PST

As more candidates join the New York City mayoral race, they threaten to hit a critical threshold: how many fit on a Zoom screen. With just four months until the Democratic primary that is sure to determine the winner, candidates have been facing off in adjacent squares like an extended Brady family. More than 40 are running, and given New York’s progressive electorate, their overlap on positions is considerable — notably in their distancing themselves

CBRE’s 2020 earnings down 8%

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 10:48 AM PST

“Asset-light” is the buzzword trending in the flex-office space — and at CBRE, too. Bob Sulentic, the commercial real estate giant’s CEO, said that was a big factor in CBRE’s decision to buy a 35 percent stake in the flex-office provider Industrious. “They have an asset-light model. That means that they provide flex space as a service,” Sulentic said on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call Tuesday. “They are not taking long-term leases and then

Sales of new homes up 4.3% in January

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 10:46 AM PST

The pace of brand new single-family home sales increased for the second consecutive month in January. The 4.3 percent jump to 923,000 from December’s revised rate of 885,000 also represented a 19.3 percent year-over-year increase, according to the Census Bureau’s monthly report on new residential construction. The report tracks single-family home sales by contracts signed or deposits paid for a sample of homes selected from building permits. The Census Bureau notes that it is a

Cold storage facility in New Jersey gets $34M loan

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 10:20 AM PST

Cold storage is hot in New Jersey. Elberon Development Group and Fidelco Realty Group, who are building a 140,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse at 1029 Newark Avenue in Elizabeth, have just secured a 22-year, $34 million loan. The 10.5-million-cubic-foot facility will be leased to FreezPak Logistics as its fifth location in the state, according to JLL, which worked with the development team to secure the loan combining construction and mortgage financing. The JLL team representing the borrower

Silverstein offers to buy half of All Year’s Bushwick rental complex

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 08:50 AM PST

Since Yoel Goldman’s All Year Management had its Israeli bonds delisted at the end of last year, the Brooklyn developer’s troubled assets have drawn interest from several investor groups. Now, one of New York’s most well-known developers has thrown its hat into the ring. Silverstein Properties has submitted a non-binding proposal to purchase Phase I of All Year’s Denizen Bushwick at 54 Noll Street, the companies disclosed to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

State tweaks housing conversion proposal for offices, hotels

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 08:00 AM PST

The state has tweaked its proposal for the conversion of offices and hotels to housing, limiting which buildings would be eligible. But some feel that the measure still doesn’t go far enough in creating new affordable housing. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s initial budget bill offered a temporary window for owners to override local zoning rules to turn vacant and struggling office properties into housing. Now, a series of amendments provides that only certain old office buildings

Macerich taps PJT Partners for assistance

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 07:30 AM PST

As Macerich battles liquidity issues, the mall owner has tapped an investment bank for assistance managing its debt. PJT Partners, whose specialties include debt restructuring, will advise on options for a $1.5 billion revolving credit facility due in July, according to Bloomberg News. Among other issues, Macerich, like many mall owners, is faced with pandemic-battered retailers withholding rent. Macerich recently extended the maturities on three of its mall loans and generally saw occupancy and earnings

HSBC to shrink its office footprint amid shift to WFH

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 06:50 AM PST

HSBC is banking on remote work — and is shedding office space. John Hinshaw, the group COO of Europe’s largest bank, said during HSBC’s fourth-quarter earnings call that the company will switch to a hybrid model where employees have the option to work from home, Bloomberg News reported. As part of the switch, the bank is expected to reduce its real estate footprint by about 40 percent, the publication reported. While it’s expected to keep

Apartment project near Brooklyn Botanic Garden is shortened

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 06:35 AM PST

A developer who proposed two Crown Heights apartment towers, only to be shot down by the mayor because they would shadow the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, has shrunk the project. The new plan from Bruce Eichner’s Continuum Company, however, proposes far less affordable housing, The City reported. Eichner’s website now pitches a project peaking at 17 stories, which he pits against a 34-story project that Mayor Bill de Blasio recently said would not be approved because

Gucci renews lease in Trump Tower

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 05:50 AM PST

Some businesses have attempted to disaffiliate themselves from Former President Donald Trump. Gucci is not among them. The luxury fashion house recently renegotiated and extended its lease at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources. In exchange for extending its lease beyond 2026, the retailer received a reduction in rent. Representatives for Gucci and the Trump Organization declined the Times’ requests for comment. At the Trump Organization’s 6 East

US home prices are more than 5% too high: Fitch

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 05:00 AM PST

Buyers bidding up homes have gotten carried away, according to a new report. Fitch Ratings estimates that national home prices were overvalued by 5.5 percent as of November. In about a quarter of the country’s 392 metro areas, Fitch estimates, home prices are more than 10 percent too high. Fitch said rapid housing price growth is out of step with the economy. While home prices have been driven up by historically low inventory and mortgage

South Florida real estate on climate change: ‘Que Sera, Sera’

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 04:30 AM PST

Real estate is famously all about location. And in Florida, climate change is expected to put some of the toniest locations underwater over the coming decades — either permanently or during storm-driven flooding. Insurers are taking notice and hiking rates accordingly. Developers and homebuyers, however, seem oblivious to the threat. Florida’s geography makes it vulnerable to storms from both the Atlantic and the Gulf, where warmer water is increasing their size and intensity, and rising

Texas storm, increasing rates freeze home mortgage market

Posted: 24 Feb 2021 04:00 AM PST

The snow storm in Texas froze the nation’s mortgage market last week. The state saw a 40 percent decline in applications for purchase and refinance mortgages last week, dragging down the national volume of requests, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. At least 58 people died in the cold snap, which stretched as far as Ohio. “The severe winter weather in Texas affected many households and lenders,” said Joel Kan, head of industry forecasting for