Pam Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group, author Michael Gross and Wendy Sarasohn, senior vice president at Corcoran and hostess of the party (credit: Richard Lewin)

Yesterday evening a senior vice president at the Corcoran Group, Wendy Sarasohn, hosted an intimate yet lavish book party at her Park Avenue apartment for author Michael Gross. His new book, “Unreal Estate: Money, Ambition, and the Lust for Land in Los Angeles,” chronicles the lives of those buying in the Platinum Triangle — Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Holmby Hills — through their real estate.  [more]

Even though Hurricane Irene mostly passed over New York without too much damage, there is still lingering concern about what the impact of a larger storm could be on the larger number of developments rising on the New York waterfront, the New York Times reported, as for many the hurricane was the first time many realized they lived in evacuation zone A.

To limit damage from storm surges and flooding, the city’s comprehensive waterfront development plan, “Vision 2020,” recommends the installation of retractable water-tight gates at the entryways of buildings; investing in the maintenance of seawalls and bulkheads; creating “soft edges” along the shoreline that can accommodate surging tides; and restoring or creating wetlands and barrier islands. According to “Vision 2020,” sea levels by 2050 could be 12 to 29 inches higher than they are today. By 2080, they could be some 55 inches higher. [more]

Hall Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens, and the Laureate

Demand for luxury condominiums in Manhattan has been driving an improved rate in closed sales in the third quarter, according to preliminary data, the Wall Street Journal reported.
With only three days left in the quarter, there have so far been 150 recorded closed sales at $4 million or more, including 18 at the Laureate, the Stahl Organization’s 70-unit condominium on West 76th Street and Broadway, the Journal said. Sales of expensive co-ops were also strong during the quarter.

“There has been a real uptick for properties of that size and price range,” said Hall Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens, which manages sales at the Laureate. “This is a difficult time in the economy, but if properties are priced well in New York they sell.”
Pamela Liebman, president of the Corcoran Group, said she is seeing a phenomenal growth in demand for luxury residents in comparison with properties on the lower end. [more]

While The Real Deal wasn’t welcome at the Crain’s luncheon at 583 Park Avenue to honor the women on its recent list of the 50 most powerful women in New York City (a photographer was told no outside press permitted upon arrival), we managed to snap some photos as real estate pros entered and exited the event (see above). Brokering Conde Nast’s relocation to 1 World Trade Center earned Mary Ann Tighe, CEO of the New York Tri-State Region of CB Richard Ellis, the top spot on this year’s list. Other honorees included Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group, and Dottie Herman, CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman. – Lauren Elkies

Stephen Ross, founder, chairman & CEO of the Related Companies, and Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group, turned out at last night’s Stroock & Stroock & Lavan real estate reception at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the Time Warner Center (see photos above). In the Mandarin ballroom, with its breathtaking view of Central Park, Columbus
Circle and the East Side of Manhattan, top real estate executives, lawyers
and others networked with each other over drinks and food.
Others spotted were Joseph Moinian, CEO of the Moinian Group, and Leonard Boxer, chairman of
Stroock’s real estate practice. — Miranda Neubauer [more]

From the July issue: Big brokerages, says Pam Liebman, president of the Corcoran Group, are often stereotyped as being somewhat stiff. But, she says, that’s not a fair characterization. And, in her office at 660 Madison Avenue, where the music is usually on and Liebman can occasionally be found putting golf balls, she is bucking that image. That might be because business has been pretty good lately, despite the economic uncertainty. While the $500,000 to $1.5 million Manhattan home market has softened since the early spring, Liebman points out that the highest-priced properties are flourishing. Plus, in May, Corcoran ranked tops in the city in terms of listings — 1,815 of them, at $3.5 billion. Click here for more and to take a peek at her desk.

The Manhattan residential real estate sales market can best be characterized as stable, according to second-quarter reports issued by the city’s largest real estate brokerages, signaling strength amidst an uncertain economic climate elsewhere in the country. Reports from Prudential Douglas Elliman, the Corcoran Group and data from sister firms Halstead Property and Brown Harris Stevens show mixed but healthy indicators. In a still strict lending environment, it comes as little surprise that the best performing sectors of the market — the top end of the market where buyers are wealthiest, and the bottom end of the new development market where units qualify for Federal Housing Authority-approved loans — were those where financing came easiest. [more]

From left: Architect Costas Kondylis and Princess Katherine Karadjordjevic, developer Donald Trump, the Corcoran Group’s Pamela Liebman, Town’s Andrew Heiberger and wife Robyn, and marketing guru Louise Sunshine (credit: Clint Spaulding of patrickmcmullan.com). Click the image to see more photos.

Developer Donald Trump, who spent weeks courting the fringes of American politics in a possible presidential bid, stuck to real estate last night in brief remarks at the premier of a documentary produced by The Real Deal about the prolific and aging New York architect Costas Kondylis. (See more photos after the jump.)

Trump, who traveled the United States questioning President Barack Obama’s birth certificate, praised Kondylis — born in Africa to Greek parents — as a “great design architect.”

Kondylis was the architect on many of Trump’s buildings such as the Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza and an imposing row of residential towers that were critically panned called Riverside South, which face the Hudson River. [more]

With the stock market picking up steam and the worst of the recession apparently in the rear-view mirror, high-end home purchases are on the rise. According to CNBC, sales of homes worth more than $1 million nationwide have risen in most states and real estate professionals say people are bidding up the price for expensive homes for the first time since the market crash. Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group, told CNBC that the firm saw sales of luxury co-ops double in the first quarter of 2011. [more]

Paula Busch, a veteran senior-level manager in the Corcoran Group’s flagship 660 Madison Avenue office, has left the firm for Town Residential, the latest in a string of recruits to Andrew Heiberger’s new brokerage. According to Town, Busch will take over as managing director of sales. Busch, who had overseen 350 agents in her role at Corcoran, said in a statement that she is “thrilled to be joining a company as innovative and entrepreneurial as Town,” while Heiberger praised her as a “pillar of the industry.” TRD [more]