The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

High tides are flooding coastal communities with record frequency

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 02:15 PM PDT

As sea levels rise, coastal communities prone to flooding are not only threatened by storm surges, but also the moon. Last year, there were twice as many high-tide flooding days — defined as days when tides are 1.75 to 2 feet above the daily average high tide — than there were 20 years ago, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. Storms used to be the main cause of flooding, but now the full moon’s

North Fork vineyards attract new varietals of buyers

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 01:00 PM PDT

In 1973, Alex and Louisa Hargrave purchased a 66-acre potato farm in Cutchogue for $230,000 on something of a romantic whim. The young, Harvard-educated couple, who had no agricultural experience, imagined a peaceful life working the land and raising a family in the rural North Fork. Inspired by a local farmer, who pointed out that the land bore characteristics similar to land in Bordeaux, the Hargraves set to work establishing the very first vineyard in

Porsche and Volvo sign leases at Industry City

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 12:30 PM PDT

A pair of European automakers are racing into Industry City. Porsche and Volvo have recently signed leases in the 16-building, 6 million-square-foot industrial complex in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, according to owners Belvedere Capital, Jamestown and Angelo Gordon & Co. Volvo plans to open 20,000 square feet of showroom and service center space in September, while Porsche is set to open a 10,000-square-foot showroom along with a 30,000-square-foot service center in January. Jim Somoza, Industry

Where Airbnb lost the most listings during the pandemic

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 12:00 PM PDT

The pandemic wreaked havoc on Airbnb, with the short-term rental company reporting it lost listings in 19 of 20 major markets. The lone market that came out unscathed? Not surprisingly it was in Broward County, Florida, according to a LendingTree report that examined active Airbnb listings from May 2020 to March 2021, using Inside Airbnb. Broward reported listings rise by 2 percent in that 10-month period. Homebuyers and renters have flocked to South Florida during

Compass expands to Indiana amid stock slump

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 11:15 AM PDT

Stock performance be damned, Compass is sticking to its growth plan. The nation’s second-largest real estate brokerage by sales volume is dipping into the Indianapolis market, adding 23 top local agents who have produced over $160 million in sales. Part of Indianapolis’ allure is its luxury sales potential, said Compass regional president Rachael Rohn. She noted that the suburbs north of the city — such as Carmel and Fishers, Indiana and Geist, an affluent neighborhood

Half of Fairfield County home sales are above asking price

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 10:30 AM PDT

Bidding wars swept through Fairfield County in the second quarter and hit a new peak in Greenwich, its famously wealthy enclave. About half of homes that sold in the county closed above the last asking price, an all-time record, according to a report by Douglas Elliman compiled by appraiser Miller Samuel. In Greenwich, more than a quarter did — the most in the town in at least four years. The bidding wars were driven by

TF Cornerstone scores $385M loan for Prospect Heights apartment towers

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 10:07 AM PDT

TF Cornerstone scored a $385 million construction loan from Wells Fargo for its massive Pacfic Park development project in Prospect Heights. The financing allows the developer to move forward with its plans to build two apartment towers totaling 558 market-rate units and 240 affordable units at 595 Dean Street, two blocks from the Barclays Center. Plans also include ground-floor retail, a health club and a below-ground garage with 455 parking spaces. It will also include

Credit bid of $700K nets Hamptons estate asking $95M

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 09:30 AM PDT

Seven years after hitting the market for $140 million, Chris Whittle’s Hamptons estate has been auctioned for just $700,000 to repay a debt to the school he helped found. In an auction Tuesday morning, the estate, known as Briar Patch, was awarded to Avenues Global Holdings on a credit bid, the Wall Street Journal reported. Whittle told the publication after the auction that he has “had better days.” It was not immediately clear how much

Condos.com launches as iBuying website for new development units in US

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 09:00 AM PDT

Condo.com founder Richard Swerdlow and Haüskey founder Neel Kawale partnered to launch Condos.com, an iBuying website for new development and preconstruction condos, The Real Deal has learned. The partners are hoping to capitalize on growing demand for new condos and the rise of buyers embracing online shopping for real estate. Swerdlow and Kawale said they invested several millions of dollars in Condos.com, which includes a 24/7 concierge. Swerdlow, a Miami-based real estate and proptech investor

Notorious Brooklyn landlord locked out tenant, trashed his possessions: suit

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 08:15 AM PDT

Yechiel Weinberger took third-place on the public advocate’s ranking of New York City’s worst landlords in 2015. This year, he seems to be gunning for the top spot. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Albert de la Tierra, a rent-stabilized tenant at Weinberger’s 196 Rockaway Parkway in Brownsville, sued the landlord Wednesday for illegally locking him out of his home in the dead of winter — and the height of the pandemic — and throwing out

NexPoint-managed single-family landlord eyes IPO amid rental boom

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 08:05 AM PDT

As demand for rental properties grows, NexPoint is looking to harness the momentum by taking a single-family landlord public. VineBrook Homes Trust, a massive single-family landlord managed by NexPoint Real Estate Advisors, is in discussions to potentially pursue an IPO by the end of the year, according to Bloomberg News. The company operates over 13,500 single-family rentals across 16 states, primarily in the Midwest. Around half of its portfolio is in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton.

Blackstone buys $5.1B in affordable housing from AIG

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 07:03 AM PDT

Blackstone and AIG have agreed to a massive deal involving the sale of $5.1 billion in affordable housing assets. AIG sold the assets to Blackstone as part of a “long-term strategic asset management relationship” between the two companies, Bloomberg News reported. Blackstone has been pursuing lower-cost rentals to boost its real estate arm, according to the publication. In May, Blackstone revealed plans to buy around 5,800 apartments in San Diego County from the Conrad Prebys

Grand Prospect Hall sold in Park Slope assemblage

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 06:34 AM PDT

Grand Prospect Hall in Park Slope is changing hands as part of a $30 million sale with 11 adjacent properties. The 12-property assemblage was sold to Angelo Rigas through limited liability company Gowanus Cubes, PincusCo reported, citing city records. All 12 of the properties are on Prospect Avenue between Fifth and Sixth avenues in Brooklyn and combine to form 73,104 square feet of built space. Rigas’s attorney on the deal, Oded Ben-Ami, declined to comment

Tavros nabs refi on Meatpacking District properties it wants to redevelop

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 06:00 AM PDT

Tavros Capital Partners landed a $65.3 million refinancing deal for a group of Meatpacking District properties it plans to redevelop into a much larger mixed-use complex. Seoul-based Nonghyup Bank provided the debt, which replaced an existing loan of a similar amount. Three years ago, Tavros sought an equity partner for its proposal to redevelop its Greek Revival-style walk-up and retail properties at 44-54 Ninth Avenue, 351 West 14th Street and 362-364 West 15th Street. The

Hamptons homebuying slows for 4th straight month

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 05:30 AM PDT

The pace of homes going into contract in the Hamptons slowed for the fourth month in a row. The number of homes for which contracts were signed last month fell 6.8 percent compared to May and was down 37 percent from its June 2020 level, according to Newsday. New York state lifted restrictions on real estate activity last June, leading to a surge in deals that carried through the remainder of 2020. Homes continue to

Here’s what tenants pay (and make) at the Westchester mall in White Plains

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 05:00 AM PDT

The following is a preview of one of the hundreds of data sets that will be available on TRD Pro — the one-stop real estate terminal that provides you with all the data and market information you need. Located in downtown White Plains, about a dozen miles north of New York City, the 814,000-square-foot mall known as The Westchester is “the dominant upscale retail destination within its trade area,” according to a recent Moody’s report.

Ecuadorian president’s alleged Florida real estate ties raise questions

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 04:30 AM PDT

The South Florida real estate market’s reputation as a magnet for dirty money has made unwelcome headlines around the globe, from Venezuela to Russia. That reputation may now have caused a stir at Ecuador’s presidential palace. Guillermo Lasso, a businessman and banker who became Ecuador’s 47th president this May, is the subject of a report scrutinizing his real estate deals in the Sunshine State. Entities tied to Lasso amassed roughly 130 properties across Miami-Dade and

Naftali building clear-out pits neighbor against neighbor

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 04:00 AM PDT

It’s a tale as old as Nora Ephron’s late-’90s film “You’ve Got Mail”: A children’s bookstore on the Upper West Side goes under as a developer marches in. For the owners of the shop that inspired the film, that drama has played out for real this summer — and has roped in the residents of a neighboring building, too. Last month, Naftali Group, a developer with a penchant for luxury condos, bought the parcel that