From left: Oren Alexander, Eric Trump, Caroline Bass and Jared Seligman

Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Oren Alexander and Eric Trump of the Trump Organization are just two of New York real estate industry’s most promising young upstarts named among Forbes’ “Top 30 Under 30″ list, a ranking of the country’s rising stars in various industries.

An Elliman vice president, Alexander made it onto the list after selling close to $100 million in homes at age 24, Forbes said. The New York and Miami broker is currently listing a $60 million private resort property at 3 Indian Creek in Miami Beach. Trump, meanwhile, has worked on more than 70 projects for his father’s company, including Chicago’s Trump Hotel & Tower and has been instrumental in expanding Trump’s golf course portfolio. Eric is 27 years old. [more]

People living in the country’s priciest and glitziest zip codes haven’t escaped the foreclosure crisis, according to recent data cited by Forbes, with northern North Jersey and southern New York having the largest total number of pricey neighborhoods riddled by foreclosures in the nation. Among these pricey neighborhoods are Great Neck and Old Wesbury.

Loss of income may be the most common reason for foreclosures in pricey neighborhoods but experts say they’re seeing a rise in the number of strategic foreclosures on that end of the market.

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New York City ranked sixth among the list of the top 10 worst-selling housing markets, according to Forbes, due in part to its 13 percent sales price drop between 2008 and 2009, and the 13 percent rise in inventory over the same time period. Other cities that have proven hostile to sellers, according to the ranking, are Milwaukee, Wis. and Denver, Colo., which came in first and second places, respectively. Although the report includes data on just single-family homes and not condo units, experts who weighed in on the data determined that those cities with a large presence of condos, like New York City and San Francisco, may have suffered more in the downturn. “Housing gets pulled up along with condos because the luxury market sets the bar so high,” Jonathan Miller, appraiser and president of Miller Samuel, said. “When that market freezes up, sales on single-family homes drop more than they would otherwise.” According to Forbes, it’s that influence that led to New York City’s high rank on the list — “the condominium market has a far greater impact [there] than it does on other cities’ real estate markets.” Conspicuously absent from the list was Detroit, which has seen its housing market suffer tremendously during the economic downturn but did not have readily available sale price data and therefore could not be included.

The Forbes building at 60 Fifth Avenue and Michael Alfano, NYU executive vice president

New York University has purchased the Forbes building at 60 Fifth Avenue at the corner of 12th Street, according to a press release from Forbes magazine, the seller. The eight-story, 122,500-square-foot structure was built in 1924 for book publisher MacMillian & Company, owned by the family of the late British PM Harold MacMillian. Forbes magazine moved into the building in 1962. The building was originally listed for sale in 2007 with Cushman & Wakefield. The New York Post reported last month that the publishing company was
close to a deal for $55 million, which a Forbes spokesperson flatly
denied. The terms of today’s deal were not disclosed, but Forbes said no broker was involved in the deal. Forbes will be staying in the building as a tenant under a five-year lease-back agreement. The building will be used for academic purposes, as the school looks to expand its properties through “community-oriented planning principles,” according to a written statement from Michael Alfano, NYU executive vice president. The school has had a long-term expansion plan in the works, with an “emphasis on acquiring existing structures rather than resorting to new construction,” Alfano said. The plan has met with some community opposition, with neighborhood activists claiming that it has outgrown the region and should look beyond Greenwich Village for future expansion. TRD [more]

The Forbes headquarters at 60 Fifth Avenue is rumored to be close to contract for roughly 60 percent off the original asking price, in what would be the latest in a string of sales the publishing moguls have made amid sliding advertising revenues industry-wide. Forbes Media originally listed the 144,000-square-foot building for $140 million in 2007 with Cushman & Wakefield. After a potential buyer walked away from a deposit on a $120 million deal, the company was asking $80 million for the property, with a three-year lease back agreement for $3 million each year. Now, sources told the Post that Forbes may sell for $55 million, or just $380 per square foot, to an unidentified buyer. A Forbes spokesperson said no contract has been signed, and flatly denied that the $55 million price tag was a possibility. [Post]