Edward Herson, senior vice president at Halstead Property, hosted a spring “Halstead Private Brokerage Event” last night, offering potential buyers and sellers an opportunity to converse with real estate professionals (see photos above). The attendees had an opportunity to interact with Michael Vargas, co-founder of Vanderbilt Appraisal Company, banker Tom Hennessey and attorney Richard Tesler. The event was part on an ongoing informational series, started two years ago by Herson. “It’s about building my brand under the Halstead name,” he said. TRD

From left: The Edge, Andrew Barrocas (CEO of MNS) and 189 Eighth Avenue

For two years, the company that resulted from the merger of the Developers Group (TDG) and the Real Estate Group New York (TREGNY) has been known by the somewhat cumbersome TDG/TREGNY. But that alphabet soup has been simplified. As of today, the firm is MNS, for “Marketing and Sales,” and with it comes a revamped website with plans to expand: In June, it will cut the ribbon on a new office, its third, at 189 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea. MNS’ new look comes after a year of brainstorming with two New York ad agencies, Ammirati, whose clients include VitaminWater, and Warehouse Agency New York, who has worked with developments like One Brooklyn Bridge Park, which TDG/TREGNY had been marketing for years.
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A 77-year-old man who has lived in the same rent-controlled, two-bedroom Bensonhurst apartment for the past 70 years may finally have to move out. According to the Daily News, Melvin Pearlstein is in a dispute with landlord Peter Pantelic over his $415-a-month 83rd Street home, where he says a mold infestation got so out of hand that his wife got asthma and had to move out. Pearlstein, who lived in the apartment with his brother and parents as a child, said Pantelic ignored orders by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development to have the mold removed. Meanwhile, building manager Halstead Management has filed to have the Pearlsteins evicted for being disruptive tenants, and the landlord tried to buy them out for $700. They declined. [more]

From left: Elliman’s Dottie Herman, Corcoran’s Pamela Liebman, Halstead’s Diane Ramirez and Brown Harris Stevens’ Hall Wilkie

Tight credit, a harsh winter and a return to seasonality led to a relatively quiet first quarter in Manhattan, according to several residential sales market reports released today by some of New York City’s top firms. While reports from Prudential Douglas Elliman and the Corcoran Group show a rosier picture than those from sister companies Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead (which release the same data), experts across the board agreed that the market is stable.

The median home sales price dropped to $782,071 in the first quarter of the year, down 9.9 percent from the same time a year earlier and 7.4 percent from fourth-quarter 2010, according to the Elliman report. [more]

Although Manhattan studio apartment prices reached astronomic highs during the boom years, often fetching $1 million a piece, the market for one-room homes has remained soft, even as one- and two-bedroom apartments show a bit of a rebound, according to the New York Times. The average price of a studio dropped 20 percent to $404,326 in 2010 from its all-time high of $500,479 in 2008, according to Streeteasy.com. “It’s been years since we’ve seen studios in prime neighborhoods priced this low,” said Jill Sloane, an executive vice president with Halstead Property. “[But] studios are hard to move right now.” [NYT]

Jim Gricar will leave his role as the West Side manager at Brown Harris Stevens to fill a new position, general sales manager, at Halstead Property. The two firms are owned by Terra Holdings and Gricar said the move lacked the controversy typically associated with job changes.
“The owners approached me about the opportunity and I was very excited,” Gricar said. “I’ll get to work directly with Diane Ramirez [the president of Halstead] and manage operations, not only on the West Side, but across the firm.”
The move is effective April 4. TRD [more]

Williamsburg’s 50-unit new condominium project, 58 Metropolitan, has received its temporary certificate of occupancy, according to developer Steiner NYC. The seven-story building includes studios, as well as one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, with prices ranging from $359,000 to $1.53 million. The development, which began marketing in 2008, includes an indoor swimming pool, fitness center, yoga room and Zen garden. It’s not immediately clear how much of the building is sold. Halstead Property Development Marketing is the building’s exclusive brokerage. Sales launched in June 2010. TRD

(source: Halstead)There’s reason to be optimistic about the city’s residential real estate market after recent data highlighted a trio of positive indicators. According to a new report compiled by Gregory Heym, Halstead’s chief economist, the city added private-sector jobs in 2010, after posting a net loss in that area the previous year. The gains were led by the education, health and hospitality fields, even as government employment fell by more than 17,000. Meanwhile, Wall Street firms had their second-highest profit total ever in 2010, with $27.6 billion. TRD [more]

From left: Richard Orenstein, Norman Horowitz, Pat Publik, Senad Ahmetovic and Shery Saeed

Residential brokerage Halstead Property announced its company-wide awards today, with Richard Orenstein taking home the top prize, Highest Gross Sales Commissions Award for New York and New Jersey. Norman Horowitz was awarded the prize for highest gross commissions in new development marketing, while Pat Publik had the highest number of sales deals closed in the year. Among rental brokers, Senad Ahmetovic had the highest number of rental deals closed in the year, while Shery Saeed clocked in with the highest gross rental commission in a single transaction. TRD

Terra Holdings said today that it has acquired the assets of property management firm Caran Properties and will begin operating it as a division of the Halstead Management Companies, effective immediately. Among the Caran properties that will be folded into Halstead’s portfolio are 200 West End Avenue, Sky House, Place57, the Astor and the Shepherd House. Caran’s Sherry Frankel and Martha Goupit will run the new Caran Management team for Terra, and will move into the Terra headquarters at 770 Lexington Avenue. Terra did not disclose the financial details of the merger. TRD