The agent who launched a commercial division at Kurland Realty is now doing the same for DJK Residential.
Allan Gallaway, who was managing director of the commercial division at Kurland for five years, started his new position, as senior vice president at the newly formed DJK Commercial Realty, a week ago (the website isn’t live yet). He is now working to recruit agents for the team, which he expects to amount to three to five people. The division will focus on leasing office, restaurant and retail space as well as retail condo sales and investment sales including hotels. [more]

From the September issue: The National Association of Realtors reported last month that home sales nationwide dropped by 27 percent between June and July — a phenomenon largely attributed to the expiration of federal housing tax credits.

The bleak news sent the stock market into a nosedive and gave more credence to the national conversation about a possible “double-dip” recession. Yet Manhattan real estate brokers said they’re seeing an increase in activity as the summer draws to a close, suggesting a strong fall market may be in the works.

“Business has been building,” said Frances Katzen, an executive vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman. “People are buying through the summer months and property is moving. This is a far cry from last summer.”

Ryan Fitzpatrick, sales associate at the brokerage CORE, said that in light of the strength of demand this summer, he “expects the market will be robust through the fall.

[more]

Andrew Barrocas

From the May issue: While the real estate community is inundated with statistics about sales activity and prices when it comes to the condo and co-op market, there’s one stat that’s rarely bandied about in public: commission fluctuations. In this month’s Q & A, The Real Deal talked to brokers and firm principals about how take-home pay and commissions have changed since the market went into freefall in September 2008. For more on the new types of commission splits that some firms are using and on new development versus resale commissions, we turn to our panel of experts. [more]

From the March issue: In the past year, New York City renters have come to expect a bevy of incentives, like months of free rent, landlord-paid brokers’ fees, and even — in the case of boutique luxury rental 436 West 20th Street — a butler. Could these perks be disappearing? In recent weeks, brokers have reported that landlords are doing away with concessions, and even increasing rents. “As their vacancies begin to drop, landlords around Manhattan are beginning to test rent increases,” noted Daniel Baum, CEO of the Real Estate Group New York, in a January market report. “Some of the major players, and even a few small outfits, have begun to remove concessions and bump up prices … around $100 to $200 per unit.” [more]

From the January issue: Hope springs eternal in the New York City residential market, especially now that 2009 — the worst year in recent memory — is over. “If you survived 2009, you can survive anything,” said Yael Dunayer, an executive vice president at Barak Realty. Like many other brokers, he pointed to strong activity in the second half of last year as an indicator of a possible 2010 recovery. “The last six months of 2009 have been very active and brokers should look forward to riding this trend well into 2010,” Dunayer said. One reason for this optimism is that December — usually one of the slowest months of the year — saw more activity than usual, brokers said. As the holidays approach, New Yorkers — and would-be New Yorkers — usually take a break from real estate shopping, preferring to gift-shop instead. But this year, low prices continued to lure buyers into the marketplace and prompted them to sign on the dotted line much later than usual. “Last year, the brokers didn’t show around the holidays. It’s different this year,” said Marilyn Harra Kaye, president of MLBKaye International Realty. “We even canceled an [office] meeting this month because the brokers were very busy.” Of course, December 2008 was much slower than usual, since it arrived in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers collapse. But brokers said last month was busier than most holiday seasons, thanks in part to the perception that there are deals in the marketplace.

Three months after signing the lease, Barak Dunayer, president of Barak Realty, has opened his second sales office. In a climate of uncertainty, Dunayer said the time was right to open the Upper East Side location. “Recessions are terrible things to waste,” he said. “And when the market goes down you have a lot of opportunities to expand, if one can afford it.” Besides, “Everything is quicker and negotiable today — the rent, the terms, branding, he said. The company is paying $140 per square foot to lease the roughly 700-square-foot space on the ground level at 1458 Third Avenue, between 82nd and 83rd streets. Dunayer’s wife, Yael, who runs the company with him, designed the space. [more]

From the November issue: A year after the financial crisis, Manhattan real estate brokers report that the market is finally returning to normal. But they don’t mean the lightning-fast sales and skyrocketing prices of the recent real estate boom. They’re talking about a more moderate, predictable real estate market, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in Manhattan for years. “The last three years have been very interesting,” said Jill Bane, an associate at Leslie J. Garfield & Co. Before the market cratered as a result of the subprime crisis, “prices were very high and there always seemed to be several competing bids,” she said. Now, however, “a sense of normalcy has returned to the market,” said Bane. Bane represented a townhouse at 17 Bank Street, on the market for $10.5 million, that recently went into contract. “People are buying; they are just not as irrational as the prior two to three seasons.”

Manhattan Association of Realtors launches trend group: The
Manhattan Association of Realtors has created a market trends committee
that will discuss and compile trends that association members are
seeing in the market. The group will meet monthly to discuss the market
and create a report on current trends. The founding members of the
committee include Zhann Jochinke of Argo Residential, Kathryn Higgins
of DJK Residential and David Thompson of Klara Madlin Real Estate. TRD [more]