Jennifer Dorfmann, director of sales at Modern Spaces and L haus listing broker, and the L haus

Stahl Organization replaced the Prudential Douglas Elliman team that marketed the L haus condominium in Long Island City with Modern Spaces. Stahl revealed the switch today with the launch of the condo’s new website, but Modern Spaces’ Jennifer Dorfmann and Tonia Moore officially took over the sales effort Jan. 1.

In more than three years at the helm, Elliman sold about 60 percent of the 122 units in the L haus, located at 11-02 49th Avenue. [more]

L haus’ exterior, interior and rooftop and Elliman’s Karen Mansour

Long Island City’s L haus condominium reached the all-important 51-percent-sold milestone, opening the doors for new financing and buying options. As The Real Deal previously reported, selling 51 percent of units has become a sort of “magic number” since the downturn because it allows for a special Fannie Mae waiver that gives buyers better mortgage rates. Moreover, it’s typically the threshold needed to ease institutional lenders’ financing fears for prospective buyers. But prospective buyers at the 122-unit L-shaped condo at 11-02 49th Avenue gain another purchasing option with the milestone: the ability to buy penthouse units that the Stahl Organization, which developed the building, put on the market upon reaching the sales threshold. TRD Comments

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From left: Griffin Court, SoHa 118, L Haus

It seems that New York City developers aren’t pulling back on buyer and broker incentives — at least not yet. At Griffin Court’s launch last week, the 95-unit condo at 800 10th Avenue, brokers were treated to a free lunch and the promise of either an Apple iPad or a 42-inch flat-screen television for each sale in the building before April 30. And its developer, Alchemy Properties, has pledged to cover transfer taxes for the first 15 buyers. At L haus in Long Island City, the Stahl Organization is luring its next six buyers with a free private rooftop cabana, valued at $70,000. Since sales of units with two-bedrooms and larger have been slow-going, the developer is also offering $10,000 towards closing costs on larger units, plus two-months free of common charges for those who sign contracts by the end of the month. At SoHa 118, brokers who sell more than one unit are eligible for an additional 1 percent commission for each deal, also courtesy of the developer. Sales in the city’s newly-debuted condominiums are beginning to accelerate, but they’re still far below the levels seen in 2007, when many of them were planned.
[Crain's] [more]

Long Island City development L haus condominium’s plan has been deemed effective, and the developers of the condominium at 11-02 49th Avenue, have unveiled a set of incentives for two-bedroom buyers. Condo shoppers who snap up a two-bedroom unit at the Stahl Organization’s building by March 31 will receive $10,000 to put toward closing costs plus a free two months of common charges, while buyer’s agents will get a 5 percent commission. The first six people to buy those units, meanwhile, will also get a free cabana. The 122-unit building offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units starting at $460,000. Prudential Douglas Elliman is exclusively marketing the property. TRD
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Dewey & LeBoeuf has named Stuart Saft the head of its global real estate practice. Meanwhile, Williamsburg condo Warehouse 11 announced its grand opening, Fort Greene Park got $300,000 for renovations, a 34,500-square-foot Bronx facility closed for $4.5 million, city housing got a $20 million federal injection, and Long Island City development L Haus partnered with Edible Queens magazine to host a free winter party. Click here for more. [more]

From left: the L Haus in Long Island City, the Toren in Downtown Brooklyn

A spurt in sales activity over the summer strengthened the Brooklyn and Queens housing markets, though prices and sales volume are still weaker than last year, according to a third-quarter market report released today by Prudential Douglas Elliman. “It’s good news taken with a grain of salt,” said Jonathan Miller, the president of appraisal company Miller Samuel and the preparer of the report. “The wild card is going to be if we see an elevated level of activity going forward.” The number of home sales in Brooklyn leaped 29.3 percent to 1,847 in the third quarter, up from 1,428 in the second quarter. But sales were still down 19.6 percent from 2,298 in the third quarter of 2008. Meanwhile, the median sales price of a co-op, condo or house in the borough increased for the first time in two years, jumping 7.9 percent to $476,000 in the third quarter from $441,090 in the previous quarter. It’s still some 6.7 percent lower than the $510,000 median sales price in the third quarter of last year, however. [more]

L Haus tacks on more buyer incentives: Three months after announcing buyer incentives, the Long Island City
condo L Haus just started offering 90 percent financing in addition to its rent-to-own and price protection incentives to
potential buyers. L Haus is also offering brokers 2.5 percent
commission on first deals, 4 percent commission on second deals and 5
percent on third deals. The Park Slope condo at 500 Fourth Avenue is
also offering a broker promotion. If three deals are done from one
brokerage office, the condo will raise the co-broke fee to 4 percent
from 3.5 percent. TRD [more]