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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Scott Rechler, Jeffrey Levine, Hal Fetner and Kenneth Horn, the heads of
RXR Realty, Douglaston Development, Durst Fetner Residential and
Alchemy Properties, respectively, were just some of the top-flight real estate executives that attended Michael Stoler’s “Stoler State of the Market” conference yesterday, at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (see photos above). Stoler asked direct, probing questions covering the availability of debt and equity, financing, expectations for 2012 and residential market from the private equity perspective. Those four topics were discussed by 32 panelists in front of an audience of more than 200 people.

Many panelists were optimistic looking forward. AKA Hotels & Korman Communities co-President Larry Korman said he expected a big year in 2012 as money comes off the sideline and returns to the investment game. – Marc Becker [more]

Frederick Peters, president and CEO of Warburg Realty, appeared on CUNY TV’s “Building New York” with host, and former columnist for The Real Deal, Michael Stoler (see video above), to discuss his career and his family’s history in New York, which dates back to the first half of the 19th century. Peters had wanted to be a pianist up until the time he bought his first apartment, a co-op on Central Park West, in 1977. In fact, in a 2008 interview with The Real Deal, Peters said he would be running an orchestra if it weren’t for real estate.

“I was bitten by the real estate bug,” he said. “It was when everyone thought New York was dying and real estate was cheap.” Peters went on to be a broker at LPK for five years before taking a managing position at Albert Ashforth’s brokerage. When the company decided to vacate the New York market, it sold the division to Peters, who renamed it Ashforth-Warburg, eventually dropping Ashforth altogether. Peters took the reins in 1990 during the depths of a recession, but “miraculously, we made money,” he said, and quickly expanded the firm from 25 agents to 150. Though president of the firm, Peters says he continues to sell apartments for two reasons: because he wants to keep his finger on the pulse of the market and because he enjoys it. [more]

From the July issue: Becoming successful in real estate is not easy. Not only does it take a stomach for risk, it also takes the ability to bounce back from failed projects — as many are trying to do now.
But once real estate executives achieve a certain level of success, they often seem to branch out to other areas of business.
For a while, the preferred next area seemed to be banking. Then, it was professional baseball and football teams. Now, all bets are off — or should we say on? — as a rush of real estate moguls get into horse racing and gaming, with the properties associated with these activities available at discounts. [more]

It is hard to fathom that it was less than two years ago when lenders were silent as the conversation turned to financing commercial real estate.

Fast forward to this spring, when my unofficial survey of more than 25 national, international, regional and local financial institutions (gleaned during personal phone calls) determined that lenders are, for the most part, actively seeking to provide financing for commercial real estate.

But in many instances, those lenders are all chasing the same deals. [more]

With the fiscally strapped state and city cutting financial
support for the development of new buildings, a number of
New York City and state higher education institutions are
working with business leaders to construct much needed
facility expansion and upgrades.

Over the last decade, schools and hospitals have found their
funding for new facilities through public-private partnerships.
Recently, the City University of New York, for example, is a
leader in the public-private partnership strategy. [more]

The major health care systems are expanding throughout New York City and beyond.

The big news this month was the bankruptcy court’s approval of the $260 million sale of the Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center in Manhattan to the Rudin family and North Shore-LIJ. They plan to develop the first stand-alone 24-hour emergency and ambulatory surgical facility in the New York metropolitan area.

North Shore-LIJ plans to invest $110 million to renovate and redevelop the O’Toole building between 12th and 13th streets on Seventh Avenue into North Shore-LIJ Center for Comprehensive Care. [more]

From the April issue: Spring — the time when New York City usually begins to welcome millions of tourists — has finally arrived. Unfortunately, when I look at my crystal apple, it shows a lackluster short-term future for the restaurant industry. That’s largely the result of events well beyond the pale of the New York real estate recovery. For one, the cost of travel has risen by as much as 30 percent since the beginning of the year due to the rise in gas prices. With turmoil in Libya and Egypt, many fear that the price of oil might exceed the record $140 a barrel, which could mean a major slowdown in travel. Combine this with the significant reduction in travelers from Japan, which is reeling in the aftermath of last month’s earthquake and tsunami, and things do not look good for the industry. [more]

Many years ago, commercial and savings bank branches were built as
architectural cathedrals.

Most of these large bank locations have been closed and converted into catering
halls and exhibition space. They include the former home of Citibank at 55 Wall
Street, Greenwich Savings Bank on Broadway and 36th Street now known as
Gotham Hall, Cipriani 42nd Street, formerly known as the Bowery Savings Bank,
Capitale at 130 Bowery and the iconic Williamsburgh Savings Bank branch on
Broadway in the Williamsburgh section of Brooklyn.

These physical pillars of retail banking were replaced by conventional retail bank
locations throughout the city. Over the past four decades a number of branches
have been replaced by ATMs, the first of which was installed in Chemical Bank (the
predecessor of JPMorgan Chase) in September 1969 at its branch in Rockville
Center, LI. [more]

Investors from around the world want to own commercial real estate assets in New York City. Equally important for ownership is the publicly traded and non-traded real estate investment trusts seeking opportunities in the Big Apple.

REITs like SL Green Realty, Vornado Realty Trust, Boston Properties and Brookfield Properties have significant ownership in the city’s best office buildings.

With regard to the prize asset class in New York City, the residential rental market, REITs who have dominated ownership in this market, especially in Manhattan, have included Equity Residential; Apartment Investment and Management Company, or AIMCO; AvalonBay Communities and Archstone-Smith (no longer a publicly traded REIT, although it could potentially go public again). [more]