Century 21 has dumped Long Island brokerage Laffey Associates, terminating its franchise agreement and alleging in a suit that the latter owes it more than $280,000 in various fees, according to Inman News. Laffey, which had been one of Century 21′s biggest brokerages, has filed a counterclaim, arguing that Century 21 breached its contract under their original franchise agreement. The counterclaim is part of a larger class-action lawsuit against the firm and its parent company, Realogy, that includes more than 1,000 current and former members of the Century 21 franchise. Century 21, which officially terminated its agreement with Laffey Sept. 7, has denied the claims in the class-action suit. [Inman]

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Alexander Goldfarb and Long Island

Long
Island may possibly be the toughest market in the country for apartment
development, though there is a lot of opportunity for building there,
residential real estate experts told the Wall Street Journal. The
housing stock is largely single-family homes, with apartment buildings
representing just 17 percent of the inventory, compared with 35 percent
in Bergen County, and 38 percent in Westchester County. AvalonBay, the
only public developer building apartments in Long Island, charges
thousands of dollars a month to renters of all ages, from college
students to seniors looking to downsize from larger homes. “There is a
very strong anti-renter sentiment that seems to exist on ‘The Island’
that we do not see in other REIT markets,” Alexander Goldfarb, a real
estate investment trust analyst with Sandler O’Neill + Partners, told
the Journal. Others agree. Home Properties, which owns older apartments
in the area, isn’t pursuing new construction there because it isn’t
“new apartment development-friendly,” said Charis Warshof, vice
president of investor relations at Home Properties. “There is a
scarcity of land; it takes a long time for approvals,” he added. [WSJ]

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Mark Jaccom

Commercial real estate services firm Colliers International has rebranded Long Island brokerage Sutton & Edwards, according to Mark Jaccom, CEO of Colliers’ tri-state region. The nearly 50-year-old Sutton & Edwards, which has offices in Lake Success and Ronkonkoma, will now operate under the Colliers name, giving the brand more of a foothold in the Long Island market, according to Jaccom. “Bringing [Sutton & Edwards] under the Colliers International umbrella is a tremendous coup for us,” Jaccom said. Sutton & Edwards currently manages 2.5 million square feet, with clients including GE Capital, Prudential Life Insurance and State Farm Insurance. Colliers has existing tri-state region offices in Manhattan, Connecticut, New Jersey and Long Island. TRD

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Mark Jaccom

Commercial real estate services firm Colliers International has rebranded Long Island brokerage Sutton & Edwards, according to Mark Jaccom, CEO of Colliers’ tri-state region. The nearly 50-year-old Sutton & Edwards, which has offices in Lake Success and Ronkonkoma, will now operate under the Colliers name, giving the brand more of a foothold in the Long Island market, according to Jaccom. “Bringing [Sutton & Edwards] under the Colliers International umbrella is a tremendous coup for us,” Jaccom said. Sutton & Edwards currently manages 2.5 million square feet, with clients including GE Capital, Prudential Life Insurance and State Farm Insurance. Colliers has existing tri-state region offices in Manhattan, Connecticut, New Jersey and Long Island. TRD

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Charles Rutenberg Realty’s new office in Valley Stream

Charles Rutenberg Realty announced the opening of its third Long Island office today, this time at 515 Rockaway Avenue in Valley Stream. Louisa Borriello, an associate broker with the company, will be managing the office, which will be utilized by as many as 150 agents. [more]

A Long Island woman has just been awarded full ownership of her house — without any debt or liens — because the mortgage records on her home were lost, according to Newsday. After buying her home in 2000, Corliss Gittens became “distraught” to learn that none of the mortgage checks she sent her lender, Homeside Lending, were being cashed, according to her lawyer Fred Brewington. [more]

While industry experts have reported a nationwide boost from the first-time homebuyer tax credit recently, Manhattan agents have been more negative, and some brokers outside of the city say that they didn’t see many last minute deals today as the tax credit expired, according to Inman News. One Long Island broker, Jedd Stone, said that while the tax credit encouraged some buyers, many more felt that the credit wasn’t reason enough to rush. [more]

From the April issue: Jones Lang LaSalle is expanding its presence on Long Island with a brick-and-mortar office in Melville, according to a spokesperson. While the firm has done deals in Long Island before, this is the firm’s first office there.

Two members of the Jones Lang team — Raymond Ruiz, an executive vice president, and Marianne Dugan, a vice president — launched the office. Jones Lang’s suburban tri-state region market director, Jonathan Meisel, said in a statement that Ruiz and Dugan’s experience in the region was integral to their placement in the office.  [more]

While many Manhattan brokers say the homebuyer tax credit doesn’t make a difference to their business, Long Island brokers say they’re seeing buyers racing to make purchases before this Friday’s deadline. Long Island homebuyers are rushing in part because they’re skeptical that the tax credit, which offers $8,000 to first-time buyers and $6,500 to repeat buyers, will be extended, as it was last November. Many brokers there say that the weeks preceding the deadline have been even more hectic than what was seen in November, because April is a busier month for homebuying, traditionally. [more]

While the Hamptons has been abuzz with rumored residential real estate deals, North Fork brokers say their neck of the woods is home to the biggest steals on the East End. While the average price of a Hamptons home is around $1.59 million, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel, the North Fork has a far-lower going rate — around $590,000. It’s figures like those and the promise of peace and quiet that brokers say is helping draw buyers away from the pricier, more glam Hamptons. “There’s not as much traffic and hubbub as in the Hamptons,” Karla Dennehy, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman, said. “It’s very Zen.”