From left: the Symphony of Lights, Hong Kong, and the Empire State Building

There is a new trend among New York City buildings: multi-colored light spectacles in the tradition of the iconic Empire State Building, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Bank of America and Conde Nast towers, the Gansevoort Hotel in the Meatpacking District and Sketchers Store in Union Square all feature bright lights that change color. The New York City Economic Development Corp. is currently accepting proposals for “placemaking through lighting initiative” to be installed in Lower Manhattan, the paper said.  [more]

From left: Tishman Speyer CEO Jerry Speyer, Hines Interests Chairman Gerald Hines and Simon Property Group CEO David SimonAs commercial construction remains stagnant in America, several high-profile American developers have turned to China for new projects, including several with notable ties to New York.

But for all the obstacles these developers are accustomed to encountering in the city, according to the New York Times there are even more hurdles to clear in China.

In addition to the obvious language and cultural barriers — for example, the Chinese do not consider a contract a binding agreement, and disputes with tenants are better settled over dinner than in a court room — unpredictable policy, layers of bureaucracy and the necessity of building local relationships make the prospect of development difficult. [more]

As the super-wealthy become wealthier and continue to seek so-called “safe-heaven” investments, prime residential real estate markets are likely to continue to see price increases in 2012, Knight Frank’s Prime Global Forecast said today. However, if calamity strikes in European markets, even high-end residential property in global cities may suffer, the logic goes. “If the euro was to collapse, or a similar catastrophe was to strike, all bets really would be off and we would expect much weaker performance across all of our prime markets,” Liam Bailey, head of residential research for Knight Frank, said in the report. — Guelda Voien
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From left: New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong

The world’s wealthiest individuals are continuing to purchase luxury residential property in key international cities despite fluctuation in the global economic marketplace, according to a report by Christie’s International Real Estate cited by real estate expert and former columnist for The Real Deal Michael Stoler on his blog.

More than 67 percent of Christie’s agents reported an increase in sales activity in the first eight months of 2011 when compared with the same period in 2010, especially in cities like New York, Beverly Hills, London, Paris and Hong Kong. Overall, the homes of the super rich in the top 10 cities worldwide rose by an average of 10 percent in value in the first six months of this year. More than 87 percent of buyers paid cash, the report notes.
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Source: Credit Sesame (click chart to enlarge)

Economists may still be calling U.S. real estate overpriced, but property in the nation’s biggest cities is still relatively affordable compared with the rest of the world, a chart compiled by credit management system Credit Sesame shows (see chart above). At an average of $1,068 per square foot, Manhattan homes seems cheap compared to Paris, which costs an average of $3,287 per square foot for a residence, according to Credit Sesame’s data. Also more expensive than Manhattan are cities such as Oslo, Luxembourg, London, Hong Kong and Beirut. Living in Houston, Texas is much more affordable than living in Al Kut, Iraq, $54 per square foot compared to $262 per square foot respectively. Miami comes in at $182 per square foot. — Katherine Clarke
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Best-performing cities, from left: Hong Kong, St. Petersburg and Paris

Turns out the rich aren’t completely immune to a world that seems on the brink of economic disaster. Sure, luxury real estate prices in “prime global cities” continue to grow even as much of the rest of the world is underwater, but in the second quarter of 2011, that growth slowed. Prices rose just 7 percent year-over-year for the priciest real estate in the most coveted cities, which pales in comparison to the 14 percent growth experienced in 2010, according to data by Knight Frank cited by Business Insider.

More recently, quarter-over-quarter data shows further stagnation. [more]

From the May issue: In a city where cramped studio apartments generate six-figure bidding wars, it’s hard to imagine a place where real estate is even pricier. But there are cities out there that can make Park Avenue look like a bargain. According to data from London-based brokerage Knight Frank, $1 million would buy you only about half a studio in Monaco.

This month, The Real Deal took stock of how New York real estate compares to other major international and U.S. cities, from London to Los Angeles. We chose 25 preeminent cities, in different geographic regions, that compete with New York for real estate buyers and tourist dollars, and pored through real estate data from each one.

Which city is struggling most to weather the worldwide financial meltdown? Which has the glitziest and most expensive stretch of retail stores on the planet? Which is stuck trying to unload the most empty office space? Where are the most expensive hotels in the world? And which urban mecca has the world’s most expensive coffee? The answers will undoubtedly surprise you. [more]

From the December issue: Real estate markets in Asia are rebounding so quickly from the global downturn that several governments have signaled that they may step in to cool rising prices. Meanwhile, Milan bankruptcy court last month approved the 500 million euro debt restructuring plan of Italian real estate development group Risanamento SpA, arguably one of the worst victims of the Italian real estate collapse, and Australian residential brokers reported that foreign investors were making up an increasingly large chunk of their clientele. Compiled by Amy Tennery

Tony Greenberg, founder of Up Ventures

While some New York City real estate developers look to another neighborhood for inspiration, Tony Greenberg, founder of the just-launched Up Ventures, looked halfway around the world.

Up Ventures, a real estate development group specializing in innovative restaurant space, aims to bring Tokyo- and Hong Kong-style restaurant real estate to New York City.

“Here in New York, you see restaurants on the basement floor, the ground floor [or] the rooftop [in different buildings],” Greenberg said. But overseas, Greenberg said that restaurateurs establish eateries on upper-level floors of the same building. Rather than browse blocks for restaurants, patrons could look upstairs or downstairs at the offerings in a single building.

Greenberg, who had been vice president of finance at Hudson Yards Development Corporation before leaving the post in the late spring, said that the concept clicked for him during his travels and he began to explore ways in which he could apply the relatively unheard of strategy in New York. [more]

Store rents fell in the world’s most expensive locations during the
first quarter and are expected to continue to decline through 2010,
according to CB Richard Ellis. But even though asking rents on Fifth Avenue in
Manhattan have fallen 10 percent in the past year, New York City kept
its top spot as the most expensive retail market, CBRE reported. Hong Kong was ranked second and Moscow was third as the
priciest retail areas. “Most retail property markets are experiencing
reduced demand from retailers and an increase in the number of vacant
units, which is in turn affecting rents,” Nick Axford, head of research
in Europe for CBRE. And Ray Torto, CBRE’s global chief
economist, said U.S. retail rents will eventually decline 25 percent
from the market peak in mid-2008. [more]