From left: Dan Fasulo, Jahn Brodwin, Simon Ziff and Daniel Alpert

From the April issue: While those in the industry have been relieved to see the New York City commercial real estate market bounce back over the past year, the resulting price increases have prompted many investors and developers to look elsewhere for deals.

Instead of searching for properties to buy in the Big Apple, they are, in many cases, turning to other markets — from prime locations like San Francisco and Los Angeles to secondary markets like Austin, Tex.

“People need to realize that the number of assets truly available for a sales price that makes sense is very few in New York City,” said Daniel Alpert, managing partner of Westwood Capital, a Manhattan-based real estate investment bank. [more]

From the January issue: They’re giving it away. Hundreds of buildings these days tout one, two
and sometimes three months of free rent on new leases. But most of the
time, the “base rent” stays the same, even as rental agents talk about
“net effective” rents — the apartment’s cost once the free rent is
amortized over the life of the lease. It’s sort of like a no-money-down
offer. Brokers say that despite their popularity, net effective rents are
something of a gamble for landlords: Lower the initial sticker prices,
fill apartments and pray that the market rebounds and tenants stay
after their lease expires.
But there are signs that lenders may be allowing landlords to lower
the base rent instead of relying on concessions, thus recognizing that
market-rate rent levels have lowered.