Manhattan median sales prices (source: MNS, click image to enlarge and see more charts)

Though new development sales slowed severely in Manhattan and Brooklyn in recent months, prices are mostly on the upswing, according to third quarter Manhattan and Brooklyn new development sales reports released today by residential brokerage MNS.

In Manhattan, the number of sponsor sales recorded in public records declined 18 percent from the second quarter, while in Brooklyn that figure fell off a cliff, to the tune of a 34 percent drop. However, the median sales price per square foot in that same period rose 4 percent in Manhattan to $1,243, and 3 percent in Brooklyn to $594. As for overall sales figures, in Manhattan the median price gained 10 percent since the third quarter of 2010 to about $1.5 million, and in Brooklyn it rose 7 percent to about $600,000. – Adam Fusfeld [more]

The rooftop at One Brooklyn Bridge Park

From the July issue: New Yorkers are not just shopping for apartments this summer. They’re also increasingly buying their own private pads on the roofs of their buildings.

Sales of rooftop “cabanas,” which residents at some new city condo buildings can buy for their own exclusive use, were slow during the downturn. But brokers say sales for these luxury, outdoor add-ons have recently picked up. Cabanas’ recent popularity has been especially visible at newly converted condo One Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn Heights, which is being marketed by the brokerage MNS.

According to MNS Executive Vice President Highlyann Krasnow, half of the building’s 18 shaded cabanas, which are hooked up to gas and water for barbecues, have been sold at prices ranging from $150,000 to $200,000. [more]

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From left: Winick Realty’s Diana Boutross, One Brooklyn Bridge Park and Ian Levine of RAL Companies & Affiliates

Residents of One Brooklyn Bridge Park will soon — in theory — have a grocery store, at least one restaurant and a bicycle shop added to the offerings available to them in the voluminous ground-floor retail space. The question for the foreseeable future however is — when?

Ian Levine, COO and CFO of RAL Companies & Affiliates, the developer in charge of the site, said he is close to sealing a deal with a bicycle shop. He said he is particularly focused on getting a large restaurant operator into a corner space that boasts some of the best views of Lower Manhattan and is keen on signing a smaller neighborhood grocery store.

In April, two relatively large retail signings in the massive condominium conversion, at 360 Fulton Street, sparked a wave of reports that the available retail space, which is one of the largest contiguous available retail spaces in all of Brooklyn, was gaining traction. [more]

Ryan Condren and Zazza Residential

Zipcar has signed a lease to take 2,000 square feet of space in the 50-space parking garage attached to the Zazza Residential condo-turned-rental building in Williamsburg. CPEX Real Estate Service, acting on behalf of the Zazza Group that developed the building, reached out to Zipcar to lease the space. The firm would not disclose the terms of the deal, and wasn’t certain how many cars Zipcar could, or would, keep in the garage. Ryan Condren, the managing director who brokered the lease, said Zipcar was interested in the space at 424 Bedford Avenue because it is an ideal location for their business. “It’s central to Williamsburg’s densest residential areas and is easily accessible from the train,” he said. TRD Comments

Work on Brooklyn Bridge Park could soon grind to a halt if the committee charged with finding funding sources to complete and maintain the 85-acre space doesn’t reach a consensus by a deadline next month, according to Crain’s. The non-profit Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp., which is overseeing the park’s planning, still isn’t sure how to come up with the roughly $16 million per year it will need to maintain the property. The city has said it would pony up around $50 million to help finish the park, but that funding is contingent on the BPPC finding a self-sustaining maintenance plan. [more]

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6. Americans think real estate is a good long-term investment, but won’t buy right now
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7. Wine store and doggy spa move into One Brooklyn Bridge Park
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8. 15 Union Square West boasts contemporary new design
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9. Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Block B is beyond repair
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The penthouse at One Brooklyn Bridge Park

The eighth season of reality TV show “Top Chef” — premiering tomorrow on Bravo — will feature 18 contestants living at One Brooklyn Bridge Park’s 438-unit “Sky House” condominium located within the 85-acre park. The chefs lived in a 4,638-square-foot, four-bedroom waterfront triplex penthouse which features views of Manhattan and Brooklyn, including the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. The condo, priced at $7.25 million, is the second most expensive apartment on the market in Brooklyn. TRD [more]

Clockwise, from top left: the Toren, One Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Forte and Warehouse 11

New condominiums in Brooklyn are leading the way in sales activity so far this year, according to PropertyShark, which released a list of the top-selling New York City apartment buildings so far this year (click here to see the full list). The Toren and One Brooklyn Bridge Park, both in Downtown Brooklyn, saw the first- and second-most units sold in the first three quarters of the year, unloading 99 and 88 units, respectively. TRD [more]

One Brooklyn Bridge Park is back on top in the race for the priciest condo in the borough. A 9,486-square-foot triplex in the 438-unit Brooklyn Heights building was recently snatched up for $8.495 million by the founder of an investment management firm, who purchased the unit through a limited-liability corporation to veil his identity. The spacious loft actually comprises six units of the original development’s plan: the buyer combined three two-bedrooms, a one-bedroom and two studios to create the space. A previous buyer, who walked away from a $600,000-plus deposit after the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008, had already merged three of those units. One Brooklyn Bridge Park is roughly 30 percent sold. The most expensive Brooklyn condo in 2008 was a $7 million loft in David Walentas’ the Clock Tower Building, which is now back on the market for $8.5 million. But neither loft will have a fighting chance for the priciest prize if Walentas manages to sell the Clock Tower’s crown jewel this year, a triplex penthouse listed for $25 million. The unit, which features a four-sided glass-faced clock and birds-eye views of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, was recently eyed by the likes of Jay-Z and Ralph Lauren. [NYT]

At peak, 51 percent of the buyers at the 505 at 505 West 47th Street had cases in federal court to rescind their contracts.

From the December issue: At peak, buyers of 55 out of 108 units (51 percent) at the 505 at 505 West 47th Street had cases in federal court to rescind their contracts, which were worth a combined $43.1 million. Six have since dropped their cases, and three have closed on their units (one received a 3.5 percent discount). The plaintiffs claimed Parkview, headed by Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass, failed to provide the property report required under the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act. After Parkview realized its mistake, the buyers claim it filed an amendment to the offering plan in an attempt to exempt itself from the law by removing eight units and combining another two, so the initial offering plan would only be comprised of 99 units. Developers across the city are fighting to keep buyers in contracts — but 20 condos and co-ops are facing a particularly tough time. Click here to read about the rest.

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