Days after rumors swirled regarding Tiger Woods’ purchase of a Hudson Street apartment, his former mistress Rachel Uchitel has purchased a three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment on Park Avenue, TMZ reported, though the address was not immediately known. The unit was asking $2 million, but Uchitel — who reportedly has an extra $10 million in her bank account from a deal with Woods — secured a “pretty sweet deal” for the place, according to TMZ. The apartment features a fireplace, as well as “white-glove service,” including a doorman and security. Though there were rumors that the homeowners association didn’t want Uchitel to move in, sources told TMZ that the process was “pretty easy.” [TMZ]

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From the April issue: There are still plenty of unsold new construction condos in New York City, especially in areas like Midtown, the Financial District and Williamsburg. But brokers say that months of busy sales activity (combined with some sellers taking their units off the market) is creating a shortage of inventory in some hot spots. Indeed, Miller Samuel’s fourth-quarter market report found that Manhattan inventory was down 18 percent from the previous quarter and almost 25 percent over the fourth quarter of 2008. In some neighborhoods, buyers are increasingly frustrated because they can’t find the type of apartment — often resale condos or prewar co-ops — they want. As a result, the competition for those apartments, when they do come on the market, can make the downturn seem like a distant memory. This month, The Real Deal asked brokers to identify the types of Manhattan apartments facing the worst shortages. [more]

The city should help modernize its corporate offices by giving developers incentives to replace Park Avenue’s aging towers, Steven Roth, chairman of Vornado Realty Trust, said in his annual letter to investors, which was released yesterday in a regulatory filing. “To keep regenerating New York, why not upzone Park Avenue as an economic incentive to tear down old buildings and replace them with new-builds which may be, say, half again the size,” he said, noting that this strategy has already worked in London. In the letter, Roth, who stepped down as Vornado CEO last year as Michael Fascitelli took the helm, was otherwise optimistic about the direction the market is headed. He said Vornado is keeping many of its vacant New York office spaces off the market in anticipation of rising rents. But while that’s good news in many ways, it also means the best deals in real estate may already be behind us, Roth said. “All the money was made buying securities in the panic,” he wrote, describing the ongoing bidding war over bankrupt General Growth Properties. “Whoever the final acquirer turns out to be, they will be paying a fair, not distressed price.” [WSJ] and [NYO]

From the November issue: In post-Madoff, post-Lehman Brothers New York, co-op and condo boards
are taking a turn as gumshoes. Experts say buildings are now conducting
increasingly extensive, and often costly, background checks of
prospective buyers. The investigations include everything from
reviewing litigation history — to see whether the buyer has been
involved in a lawsuit — to searching sex-offender registries. And to
make sure prospective neighbors are properly vetted, more boards are
now hiring private detective agencies. Andrew Harris, CEO of the 110-year-old, Manhattan-based
investigative firm Bishops Services, said he’s seen an uptick in
business recently from residential buildings, and that clients are now
requesting more in-depth searches.
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From the November issue: The amount of free rent that landlords are offering to entice reluctant tenants to sign contracts has hit record levels in the current downturn, despite the fact that asking rents have started to stabilize in parts of the Manhattan leasing market. In the third quarter, two Midtown leases were signed with 17 and 18 months of free rent — double the average of eight and a half months, figures from the most recent report from commercial services firm CB Richard Ellis showed. Some industry professionals said even longer rent-free periods were being negotiated. “For some landlords it may be advantageous to give more free rent [but] with a higher rent [per square foot],” he said. The free rent was just one element of a soft Manhattan leasing market that saw a 1 percent decline in September asking rents. Those rents fell to $50.78 from $51.28 per square foot the month earlier, the CBRE data shows. Average asking rents are now down 29 percent from the peak of $71.92 per square foot in July 2008.

From the August issue: In both real estate and art circles Aby Rosen’s reputation precedes
him. The 48-year-old, silver-haired Rosen is a legendary art collector
and boldfaced name who has successfully parlayed his flashy style and
social status into a hefty real estate portfolio anchored by the iconic
Lever House and Seagram Building — both on Park Avenue.
Until recently, Rosen has methodically placed smart bets, buying
low and then upgrading his buildings and turning them into some of the
most exclusive properties in New York.
Over the years, Rosen’s vast art collection has figured prominently
in his commercial office buildings — at Lever House he’s displayed
works by provocative British artist Damien Hirst — and in his emergence
as a hotel and residential developer. [more]