The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

CVS signs lease in Tribeca’s Keystone Building

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 01:47 PM PDT

CVS is opening another Tribeca outpost after a banner year. The drugstore chain signed a lease for nearly 12,000 square feet at 38 Warren Street, aka the Keystone Building, a spokesperson for CVS confirmed. The retailer will take over 8,600 square feet on the ground level, and an additional 3,000 square feet of basement storage. It plans to open a retail location in 2022. JEM Associates brokered the deal, which was signed in December, according

Big Tech firms led office leasing in 2020

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 12:30 PM PDT

Big Tech keeps getting bigger, and the office footprint of the companies in the sector is keeping pace. Tech firms leased more office space than any other industry last year, according to CBRE’s latest TechInsights report. In total, the tech sector took about 26 million square feet in 2020, which accounted for 17 percent of total office leases. Tech has dominated as the top sector for office leasing since 2013, according to the report. Still,

Peebles accuses former associate of “anonymous and malicious” smear campaign

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 11:39 AM PDT

Don Peebles is accusing one of his rivals of running a covert smear campaign against him. The Peebles Corporation head claims that former business associate Daniel Hoeg used untraceable Russian servers to send anonymous, defamatory emails to public officials who were reviewing Peebles’ real estate projects, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan. “[Hoeg’s]’ campaign of anonymous and malicious emails has been and continues to be harassing and damaging to

“We are recovering”: Manhattan home sales finally increase

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 11:13 AM PDT

Manhattan’s residential market appears to be on the rebound. The borough saw 2,457 home sales close in the first quarter, a 2.1 percent increase from the same period a year ago and a 28.7 percent jump from the previous quarter, according to a Douglas Elliman report by appraisal firm Miller Samuel. The small year-over-year increase isn’t one to glance over: It’s the first in the past four quarters, noted Jonathan Miller, the report’s author. The

FEMA flood-insurance overhaul goes easy on homeowners

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 09:30 AM PDT

The National Flood Insurance Program finally took a leap into the 21st century. For the first time in more than five decades, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is making major changes to the program, which covers nearly 5 million homes. For most homeowners, that’s translating into reduced or stable premiums, according to Bloomberg News. There will be increases of at least $10 a month on roughly 11 percent of homes in the program, primarily higher-value

Buyers taking advantage of New York City’s condo glut

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 08:45 AM PDT

One of economists’ favorite expressions is Herbert Stein’s “if something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” Just ask luxury condo developers. Contrary to the belief of activists who believe New York City rents and home prices defy gravity, builders cannot keep apartments empty indefinitely in a Captain Ahab–like quest to land a whale of a buyer. They must offer concessions and cut prices to move units before their lenders foreclose, even if they buy

Construction, leisure & hospitality jobs rebounded in March

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 08:15 AM PDT

The leisure and hospitality industry bounced back in March, adding 280,000 jobs to the economy as hotels, restaurants and bars continued to reopen across the country. Bars and restaurants saw the majority of job gains last month, as 175,000 individuals were brought back to work, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hotels added back 40,000 positions. The gains accounted for nearly a third of overall job growth, according to

Mortgage lenders must prevent “tidal wave” of avoidable foreclosures: CFPB

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 07:31 AM PDT

A possible wave of foreclosures is on the horizon — and mortgage lenders could be on the hook if they don’t help stem the tide. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned lenders that they must help stop “avoidable foreclosures” as forbearance programs run out, or face penalties, Bloomberg News reported. “Servicers who put struggling families first have nothing to fear from our oversight,” CFPB acting director Dave Uejio said in a statement. “But we will

Brooklyn rents have nearly caught up with Manhattan’s

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 07:01 AM PDT

As Manhattan apartments got expensive, renters moved to Brooklyn as an alternative — and in doing so, narrowed the price gap between the two boroughs over the years. The pandemic has accelerated that trend. The gap between median rent in Manhattan and Brooklyn shrank to $171 in November 2020, the New York Times reported, citing data from appraisal firm Miller Samuel. That’s the smallest gap since the firm began tracking in 2008. It’s almost a

Mortgage lenders play hard-to-get

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 06:30 AM PDT

The housing market may be on fire, but the lending environment is tougher than ever. Wary of making risky home loans during the pandemic, lenders have tightened standards, particularly for first-time homebuyers, reported the Wall Street Journal. Overall, mortgage credit availability — an indicator for lenders’ willingness to issue mortgages — is at its lowest level since 2014, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York show just

City to open Soho homeless shelter

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 05:30 AM PDT

The city plans to open a homeless shelter in Soho, which is already atwitter over the de Blasio administration’s proposal to upzone the ritzy neighborhood. The Department of Social Services would house 200 men in a converted garage at 349 Canal Street. It would be the first permanent shelter in Manhattan’s Community Board 2, which covers Soho, Greenwich Village, the West Village, Noho and Little Italy. “This high-quality facility will be the first shelter of

Three landlords slapped with six-figure fines for carving up buildings

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 05:00 AM PDT

Three landlords trying to pack people into residences like sardines were hit with big fines by New York City’s Department of Buildings, the agency announced Wednesday. The fines, each exceeding $100,000, were part of nearly $2 million in penalties handed down for illegal building and construction in February. Controversial landlord Ved Parkash was fined $105,000 for illegally creating three new housing units and for “adding single-room occupancies in various apartments.” SRO units typically lack a

Just listed: A recap of Compass’ IPO

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 04:30 AM PDT

Compass’ first day as a publicly traded company is in the books. The result so far? Neither a rousing success nor an epic failure. After a tumultuous 36 hours, in which the residential brokerage reduced the size and price of its offering, the stock price hovered between $18 and $22 per share throughout the trading day. Compass’ stock closed at $20.15 per share, giving the company a market cap of $7.7 billion. Including employee options

Value of building at former Domenico Vacca flagship cut by 70%

Posted: 02 Apr 2021 04:00 AM PDT

UPDATED, April 2, 2021, 10:15 a.m.: In May 2019, luxury retailer Domenico Vacca exited its Midtown flagship store amid a legal battle with landlord Solly Assa, who accused the company of not paying its $4 million annual rent. Nearly two years and one pandemic later, the mixed-use building at 15 West 55th Street has seen its value slashed by nearly 70 percent. A new appraisal from Trepp lists the value of the 59,000-square-foot building at