The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Wife of embattled former HFZ principal alleges Miami Beach luxe rental was filled with rats, moldy bathrooms

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 03:00 PM PDT

After plunking down more than $1 million to rent a Miami Beach waterfront home, the wife of a former HFZ Capital principal is alleging the house was uninhabitable and filled with rats’ nests, moldy bathrooms and a termite infestation. Ranee Bartolacci is now seeking more than $9 million in damages from the Miami Beach landlord, Mathieu Massa, and Miami Beach luxury broker Julian Johnston, for allegedly misleading her into renting the house. She alleges they

5 Findings From New Study About the Value of the Office

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 02:30 PM PDT

One of the biggest remote work studies ever conducted recently released findings that show the office isn’t going anywhere. The study, conducted by UC Berkley scientists, looks at over 61,000 Microsoft employees. Microsoft’s rapid shift to a work-from-model presented a unique opportunity for researchers, a natural experiment that can help shed light on the value of company-wide remote work policies. What the researchers found was that remote workers engage in fewer real-time conversations, work more siloed,

iBuyer bonds attracting Wall Street capital

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 02:00 PM PDT

The increasing commodification of residential real estate is leading iBuyers — led by Zillow — to Wall Street. Last month, the company raised $450 million from a bond backed by homes it planned to flip — in other words, homes that Zillow purchased, but hadn’t yet sold. The borrowing facility was modeled after how car dealerships finance floor models. The offering, which was led by Credit Suisse Group AG, was oversubscribed, leading Zillow to sell

Army Corps advises raising 14,000 Long Island homes to avoid flooding

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 12:50 PM PDT

In the race to prevent damage and destruction from the rising tide of climate change, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a recommendation: raise 14,000 homes along Long Island’s South Shore. The plan is one of several coming from a $6 million Nassau County Back Bays study focused on preventing flooding along the shore. Another recommendation is to flood-proof 2,500 business and industrial buildings near the water, according to Newsday. Those affected by the

Greystar eyes $250M for Chelsea apartments

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 12:35 PM PDT

One of the country’s biggest apartment landlords is testing the appetite for the kinds of high-end buildings that got hit hard when renters fled Manhattan at the height of the pandemic. Greystar Real Estate Partners aims to sell its 18-story rental building at 160 West 24th Street in Chelsea with a price tag of about $250 million, sources told The Real Deal. All 204 units in the building are market-rate, making the listing a test

Vacant for 15 years, landmarked UWS theater holds out hope

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 11:53 AM PDT

Even on a block where the majority of its neighboring buildings are landmarked, the Metro Theater stands out. For one thing, it’s tiny: at just two stories, the Metro is an Art Deco splinter in the foot of the Ariel East, Extell’s 37-story glass tower that’s so tall it made Upper West Siders shriek with dismay when its design was revealed. The theater’s tri-colored, terra cotta façade, which used to advertise showings of adult cinema

Startup wants to demystify real estate tax breaks

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 11:00 AM PDT

REDIST, a proptech startup seeking to demystify real estate tax breaks, completed a round of seed funding and soft-launched a platform to show developers and brokers how to make better use of tax incentives. Some $100 billion of incentives go unused each year because they’re too complicated or too obscure, the company says. A full launch is planned for 2022, cofounder Atif Qadir said in an interview. Users will be able to aggregate data on

Watch: TRD weighs in on the national housing landscape

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 10:15 AM PDT

This year’s housing market has been dominated by sky-rocketing prices and record-breaking shifts among the luxury market, according to TRD Editorial Director Hiten Samtani. In an appearance on “The Watch List,” a program on the TD Ameritrade Network, Samtani noted the luxury market in Manhattan — defined as sales of $4 million and greater — has already seen a record year. The market hit $11.4 billion last week after 27 contracts were signed, breaking an

RXR agrees to build part of 860-unit White Plains project

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 10:15 AM PDT

The 860-unit Hamilton Green development project in White Plains is receiving a shot in the arm courtesy of one of the nation’s largest developers, RXR Realty. Scott Rechler’s RXR will lead the first phase of construction, the Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals reported. RXR agreed to the deal through a related entity, RX Hamilton Investor. The entity will serve as the developer of the project, according to attorney Mark Weingarted, representing seller WP Realty.

Rockpoint, Brooksville take full control of Starrett City in $1.8B deal

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 08:15 AM PDT

Rockpoint Group and Brooksville Partners took full control of Starrett City in a deal valuing the massive apartment complex at $1.8 billion. The two investors bought out a stake owned by Belveron Partners, increasing their stake from 87 percent to 100 percent. “This partnership has extended affordability through 2069, capped rent increases and enabled $140 million of new capital to be available for additional community improvements, including important residential upgrades and social services,” Brooksville Company

Bidding wars happening in rentals, too: brokers

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 07:50 AM PDT

Bidding wars in the housing market are beginning to ease from a pandemic fever pitch. But they aren’t gone altogether — they’re popping up in the rental market instead. Apartment rents are rising as New York City landlords are ditching concessions of free rent and other perks made to entice tenants amid pandemic-fueled vacancy rate spikes. Brokers told The Wall Street Journal that as the cut-rate units come back up for lease renewal, the landscape

Macy’s to Amazon: Not in my house

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 07:04 AM PDT

Macy’s is fighting its landlord to defend its Herald Square flagship from an Amazon ad moving in atop the iconic location. The retailer filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Kaufman Organization, which controls the billboard space atop 1313 Broadway. Macy’s alleged a restrictive covenant prevents a competitor — like Amazon — from advertising in the space, PincusCo first reported. In the lawsuit, the department store claims it began to discuss a potential renewal of

Two Midtown hotels opt to reopen days after severance bill passes

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 06:15 AM PDT

Two of Manhattan’s largest hotels are set to reopen in the coming weeks in a promising signal for New York City’s struggling hotel industry. The New York Hilton Midtown will reopen Oct. 4, while the Grand Hyatt is set to welcome guests Nov. 1, Crain’s reported. The news comes just days after the City Council passed a bill requiring hotels that either closed or laid off 75 percent of their staff during the pandemic to

First Metaverse REIT could hit public exchange within a year

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 05:39 AM PDT

A blockchain entrepreneur, with the help of a former real estate i-banker, will mint the world’s first virtual property REIT in October. It could be listed on a public exchange as soon as next year. Tokens.com, a publicly traded company based in Toronto that facilitates investment in digital assets, signed a letter of intent to buy a 50% stake in a portfolio of digital real estate owned by Metaverse Group, which plans to subsequently spin

TIAA’s Midtown office building snags $29M in C-PACE financing

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 05:00 AM PDT

After a slow rollout, C-PACE financing is finally becoming a reality in New York City. Greenworks Lending, acquired by Nuveen earlier this year, announced Tuesday that it has closed on $28 million in C-PACE financing to 730 Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, which serves as the headquarters for Nuveen and TIAA. Nuveen Real Estate and Taconic Partners are leading a $120 million renovation of the 27-story office building. The C-PACE financing will provide for energy

All the way up: Home price growth broke record for 4th straight month in July

Posted: 29 Sep 2021 04:00 AM PDT

Record growth in housing prices is showing no signs of slowing. U.S. home prices soared 19.7 percent year-over-year in July, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. It’s the fourth straight month in which the growth rate has set a record, said Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The last several months have been extraordinary not only in the level of