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WATCH: TRD’s reporters on the biggest RE stories of 2016
We’ve had ringside seats to the blood sport of the industry – here’s what we saw
The beauty of covering real estate in New York is that we’re never simply writing about buildings: Being a real estate reporter for The Real Deal means being some curious hybrid of political junkie, stats wonk, private eye, celebrity sleuth, and social anthropologist.
And what a year it’s been! We once again had a ringside seat to some of the market’s biggest stories: from the rude awakening at the top of the luxury residential market, to the trophy poaching in the commercial brokerage world, to the expanding Brooklyn property empire of the Hasidim. We did the city’s first-ever comprehensive ranking of rental landlords, chronicled the death and attempted resurrection of the 421a tax abatement, and stepped inside a major developer’s intricate quest to secure construction financing. We exposed shady behavior on the part of those peddling condo projects, and followed a certain builder’s improbable path to the Oval Office.
Real estate is an all-consuming topic in New York. It’s something, in the words of Ofer Yardeni, that people talk about when they “wake up in the morning,” and “when they have sex.” It’s increasingly shaped by global forces, but many of its boldest and brashest protagonists are New Yorkers to the core. It’s a beat that constantly challenges, surprises and fascinates us. We brought together some of our reporters to discuss the highlights of the year, and it’s our privilege to share them with you in the video above.
(Video by Alistair Gardiner and Kerry Barger)