From left: 101 Warren Street, Asher Alcobi of Peter Ashe Real Estate and Michael Chen of Bond New York (top), Wei Min Tan of Castle Avenue Partners (bottom), Trump Soho, and 250 East 53rd Street

Now added to the long list of exports from China are buyers of New York City real
estate.

Chinese residents flush with cash from the Asian nation’s booming economy, and in
some cases limited in what they can buy at home, are starting to look at Manhattan
apartments.

Between March 2010 and March 2011, 9 percent of foreign buyers in the U.S. were from
China, according to the National Association of Realtors, up from 5 percent in 2007.
Canada sends the U.S. the most foreign buyers, with 23 percent, but China is number
two, the data shows. In contrast, England, Mexico and India, next on the list, each
represent 7 percent.

And many of those Chinese buyers are trickling into New York, say brokers, who are
creating customized services to greet them. [more]

Hassan Nemazee and 101 Warren Street

The U.S. Marshal’s office has sold the second of two swanky Tribeca condos owned by disgraced financier Hassan Nemazee, according to city records. Last month, the 1,592-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment at 101 Warren Street sold for $2.44 million.
Nemazee, who pleaded guilty in March to looting $292 million from Bank of America, Citigroup and HSBC, bought two apartments for his children in 2008 at the brand new 99-101 Warren Street project. He paid $2.7 million for this unit, closing three days after Lehman Brothers collapsed. [more]

Residents in an affordable rental building at 89 Murray Street on the corner of Greenwich Street are up in arms over a proposed school district rezoning plan, unveiled Wednesday night, that would force children in their building to attend a far away elementary school. Parents say that while P.S. 234 at 292 Greenwich Street is just around the corner from them — some even say that the school is visible from their windows — the rezoning plan would force students in their building to attend the Spruce Street School across town. Even more vexing, they say, is that nearby luxury condo owners at 101 Warren Street would be able to continue attending the Greenwich Street school. Residents at the affordable housing unit say the plan unfairly favors higher income families, many of which, they contend, could afford nannies to accompany their kids to a farther away school. The city Department of Education said that it hopes to finalize the new zoning plan by the end of next month.

From the November issue: With third-quarter market reports showing an increase in activity and brokers reporting more deals getting hammered out, the question is: Who has come off the sidelines? The answer may be “trade-up” buyers, or New York homeowners willing to sell for much less than what they would have gotten at the height of the market — so long as they can then buy better property at reduced prices. The thinking behind selling low and upgrading is simple: “It’s a logical step because if you take 20 percent off a $1 million home, and 20 percent off a $2 million home, if you can afford the upgrade, you’re getting a better value” with the more expensive property, said Leah Blesoff, a sales associate with Halstead Property.

Edward Minskoff is the developer of 101 Warren Street

General Contractor HRH Construction sued the developer of the luxury,
mixed-use tower 101 Warren Street in Tribeca for $26.9 million, after
being fired from the project in January, court papers say. The new construction development with 227 condominium units and 163
rentals was designed by global architecture firm Skidmore, Owings &
Merrill, and is being developed by Edward J. Minskoff Equities, which
has partial ownership in office towers 1166 Avenue of the Americas and
590 Madison Avenue. HRH, with offices in Midtown and White Plains, said
in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan State Supreme Court April 24 that it
was owed $26.9 million despite completing work on the 35-story project.
[more]