Makkos apartment at 721 Fifth Avenue

A glamorous Parisian-themed three-bedroom apartment in Trump Tower owned by the ex-wife of a hospitality mogul has hit the market today for $14.5 million.

The 55th-floor apartment, at 721 Fifth Avenue, is owned by Evangelia Makkos, former wife of Thomas Makkos, Central Park food-cart king-turned-hospitality-magnate and owner of celebrity hot spot Nello restaurant at 696 Madison Avenue, according to public records. The couple divorced three years ago, a source with intimate knowledge about the listing said, and Evangelia and her daughter are ready to move on, perhaps to another building or even another city.

Thomas and Evangelia together purchased the unit in 2000, according to public records. It was transferred into Evangelia’s name last month, records show. [more]

From left: A.C. Lawrence co-founders Anthony DeGrotta and Larry Friedman and Century 21 NY Metro CEO Marc Lewis

Struggling brokerage Century 21 NY Metro is merging with A.C. Lawrence, industry sources said today.

The Real Deal reported yesterday that Century 21 NY Metro — a Manhattan-based, independently owned franchise of the Century 21 brand — has experienced cash flow problems in recent weeks and has been looking for new investors to inject fresh capital into the firm.

It appears they may have found it.

Agents were told today that Century 21 NY Metro would be absorbed into the boutique sales and rental firm A.C. Lawrence. It’s unclear what the new entity would be called. [more]

From left: Antonio Del Rosario, Rosario’s proposed group logo, Kathy Braddock of Charles Rutenberg and Larry Friedman

AC Lawrence has parted ways with its one-time director of sale [more]

Douglas Heddings

Douglas Heddings, a top real estate broker and founder of the popular blog True Gotham, has left Manhattan’s Charles Rutenberg Realty to start his own firm, with an unusual business model ba [more]

Douglas Heddings

Douglas Heddings, a top real estate broker and founder of the popular blog True Gotham, has left Manhattan’s Charles Rutenberg Realty to start his own firm, with an unusual business model ba [more]

From the November issue: Real estate brokers are often stereotyped as shysters and
double-dealers. But in today’s rocky market, buyers are sometimes the
ones being deceptive.
Edward Longley, an associate broker at City Connections Realty, was
shocked to discover recently that his clients were planning to buy the
88 Greenwich Street condo he had shown them — but without paying
Longley a commission. And real estate agent Carleen McManus arranged
for her client to see a unit at Jersey City’s 77 Hudson before she went
on vacation, only to return and find the client negotiating to buy a
unit there. More and more agents say buyers they have worked with — often for
months at a time — are cutting them out of the deal when it’s time to
pay the commission.

From the October issue: Zhann Jochinke, an associate broker at Argo Residential, put an alcove
studio on the market last year for $525,000. But the offers that came
in were as low as $390,000. “People were putting bids out there just to
see if the person had to sell,” he recalled. More recently, however, he
convinced the seller to drop the price to around $490,000. Offers began
coming in at “5 percent or less off the asking price,” he
said. Now, the listing is in contract, and expected to close in the
next month. After months of uncertainty, Manhattan buyers and sellers
are finally
making a market.